Hurt: The Sequel to Denial
by Lady Gwenevere Smith
Summary: Regret and fear are the sources of his madness. The only way out lies in the dark, mysterious help of his guardian angel, an unknown waitress from the small cafe he haunts.
1. Bread and Water

**Chapter One**

**Hurt**

**Bread and Water**

They were laughing at him. He knew it. Every time they came, they were always laughing, laughing, laughing. And with each giggle, each little flutter of her eyes in glee, she forgot about him. But he didn't want to forget. He wanted those days back when it was him sitting there with her in that cozy little corner of this tiny little Italian restaurant. He wanted her back, wanted to feel her gentle skin against his, to hear her nasally voice as she hummed in the morning. He turned away from the window, and went over to the bench and sat down. This was all he had now; just his twisted memories and a cold seat in the frozen air as he waited for her to come outside. He needed to see her again, to get another fix. The drug wasn't lasting long enough anymore. He needed the real deal. He needed her.

* * *

"I'm going on my break," Alix told her boss. 

"Whatever. Just be back in here in ten minutes."

He waved her away as he continued to play solitaire on his computer. She nodded obediently, and grabbed her jacket. The winter wind whipped at her face as soon as she stepped outside, but she was grateful to get away from all of the chatter, broken dishes, and demanding customers. Alix walked to the front to take a seat on her favorite bench, when she noticed it was occupied by a rather tall, scruffy looking man. Hesitantly, she inched forward a bit. This wasn't exactly the best side of town, and she didn't want to take any chances with her safety.

"Um hi," she said softly

.No answer.

"Hello," she said a bit louder.

Nothing.

_Maybe he's deaf_, she thought. _Poor guy, out here all alone.__ I guess I'll be alright if I sit by him. He looks harmless enough._

She bent down to take a seat next to this man on his right, and that's when she got a good look at him. He looked familiar…

The bell to the restaurant dinged, and a tall, surfer looking blonde headed man walked out, nearly letting the door slam on his date.

_Ugh, I hate those two. Always cackling so loud and disturbing everyone. And they're lousy tippers, too,_ Alix grimaced.

The man on the bench stood up almost immediately, once the girl came out. He turned away when she looked in his direction, and he fiddled with his coat, pulling at the raveling strands of his elbows. And that's when it clicked in Alix's head. He was that guy that she and her waitress friends had labeled "Hotness". He used to come in all the time with the skinny girl who was now with the blonde guy. He turned around when the blonde guy and the girl were about half way down the street, and started after them.

_What happened to you? _the waitress wondered in horror.

The person who had been standing before her only seconds ago was a far cry from the strapping, dashing young man who used to be a regular patron. His dark hair was filthy with grime and grease, his once broad shoulders slumped like a building set for demolition, and his face was drawn and gaunt, with a scraggly, uneven beard concealing what at one time had been a movie star worthy jaw.

"ALIX!! GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

She sighed. Break time was over.

* * *

"Did you see that freaky guy? He's like always like hanging around here, like staring in the windows. I'd like call the police, but he's not like hurting anyone, and he doesn't like cause any trouble. Weirdo." 

Cassandra, the obnoxious hostess, who always had a wad of gum smacking around in her mouth like a cow chewing its cud, pointed outside. Alix looked up from where she was cleaning off one the tables. Sure enough, he was there again, pacing in front of the window. She'd tried to talk to him each time he came, but each time, it was like he couldn't hear her. Her heart bled for him; she knew he must have endured something terrible for such a massive change in his personality. On the few occasions she had waited on him, he was charming, funny, and always left a tip well over twenty percent of the meal. Now…now it was like he was a ghost walking around, constantly searching for something.

"I'm gonna go talk to him. He looks like he needs a friend," Alix said as she untied her apron.

Cassandra rolled her eyes."EW! I don't know why you like always like, have to like help people."Alix just shrugged."If I don't, who will?"

She clocked out, and grabbed a left over loaf of garlic bread and a bottle of water from the back. It wasn't much, but she thought she could at least offer him something. He looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Um, hey there. It's me again. I, um, brought you some bread and water. I know it's not much, but my manager would kill me if he knew I was giving food out and not getting any money for him…but I don't think he'll notice if this stuff is gone."

She held out the bread, which was wrapped in foil, and the water bottle. She steeled herself for yet another bout of rejection, when to her surprise, he looked up at her with the largest, saddest eyes she had seen in all her life. At that moment, her too kind heart sank to the pit of her stomach. He reached out with one long fingered, too bony hand, and snatched away the morsels she offered him. In seconds, he gulped down the bread and chugged the water right after that. Saying nothing more, he stood up, and walked away, back the way he always came.

"You're welcome!" she shouted after him.

He stopped slightly for a moment, glanced backwards at her, and then continued on his way. She watched him until he disappeared from her sight. In her mind she knew that she should stop where she was before she got in too deep.

_You'll only get hurt like the last time. Just give it up. There's something wrong with that guy, and it's not your place to fix him. You can't save everyone, _her mind argued.

But her heart knew otherwise. He was hurting, and he needed help. And she was the only one who could do it.

* * *

Ok, so this is my story that I wrote in response to the wonderfully dark short film, Denial, starring Brandon Routh. If you haven't seen it, I believe that it is still available on iTunes for $1.99. I highly suggest you watch it before reading this, otherwise you'll be lost. I'll post a chapter every Friday after this, since I've already finished the story. 


	2. Who Is He?

**Hurt**

**Who Is He?**

It was late that night when Alix arrived at her sparse little apartment. The elevator seemed especially slow as it creaked and groaned, slowly dragging its way up to the third floor where she lived on the farthest end of the hall.

_Dink_.

The bell to the elevator sounded dissonantly, and the doors rolled back at an achingly slow pace to reveal yellowed lights flickering dimly, barely illuminating the long corridor.

_Home again, home again,_ she thought wearily.

Today had been a long and arduous task; she'd waited at least sixty tables in four hours, not to mention the massive amount of take out orders she had to fill, and then at the last moment Cassandra called in sick, leaving Alix to do double duty as hostess and waitress. And to top it all off, she hadn't receive one decent tip. She barely got ten percent, if she even got a tip at all.

As she trudged down the worn, sea foam green carpet, she fiddled around in her purse for her keys. Simultaneously turning the key in the scuffed brass lock and pulling the door towards her, Alix walked into her sparsely furnished, but quaint little hole in the wall.

_Click._

She turned on the TV. A chronic insomniac, she habitually watched TV into the wee hours of the morning. However, tonight might be different. This time, she actually felt like going to sleep, and she just prayed that she would actually get the pleasure of such a rare commodity. The anchorman blathered on and on about some ridiculous chicken that could skateboard.

_As if I care,_ Alix thought grumpily.

She hauled herself off to change into pjs and then returned to the living room/kitchen. She'd brought with her an old registry for clients that were regulars; she was trying to find out who the mysterious man from in front of the restaurant was. She hadn't seen him in about a week, and she was starting to worry.

_I hope he's alright, wherever and whoever he is_she prayed.

* * *

Darkness. It surrounded him, squeezing him like an anaconda, slowly, imperceptibly sucking the life from him. Another needle to another vial, another scar on his arm that he hoped would whisk himself away from the impending shadows that always loomed on the horizon of his consciousness. The clear liquid seeped into his veins, quickly mixing with his crimson blood, and it rushed throughout his body, infusing every cell with the fantasy that he craved. Like a movie stuck on rewind, she entered the bathroom again, and began to brush her teeth. He watched in fascination.

* * *

"Hey Alix! You wouldn't, like believe, like what happened to me today! I like, totally got into like college!" Cassandra yelled across the restaurant. "Alix? Like, are you here?" 

The blonde wound her way around the tables to the back room where she found her 'friend' hunched over a computer, a firm line of concentration marring her brow.

"What are you like doing?"

Not even looking up from the security footage that she'd been viewing for the past three hours, Alix answered: "Do you remember that guy who used to come in here every Friday night with that chick who's with the surfer dude now? You know the tall, dark headed one?"

"Oh, yeah, 'Hotness'! How could I like forget! Man, that guy like had an ass that like just didn't quit! I would have LOVED to have grabbed like a handful! Whatever like happened to him?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"Oh, really? Like why? He hasn't been in here in like six months. That totally sucks, now that you like reminded me of him. I wonder why that girl, what's-her-face, like dumped him?"

Alix's head snapped around, causing her blue streaked brown hair to whap her in the eye.

"What makes you think she dumped him?"

"Oh, well, like when she was in here once, I heard her like totally dissing him, saying that he like didn't pay attention to her for like two weeks straight, and that she was like, TOTALLY pissed off and had moved out. Why? Are you gonna like, try and find him? He probably already has like ten girlfriends. A hottie like that could get anybody he wanted in a second."

_Ding._

A customer had just walked in.

"Ugh, I can't wait to like get out of here and like away from like all these like freaks," Cassandra bemoaned.

She glanced over at Alix, grinning sheepishly.

"No offense."

"None taken. Oh, and congratulations on your acceptance into college," Alix nodded curtly, and then went back to viewing the security footage.

"Oh, thanks! I'm totally like excited to join like a sorority! They're like for girls!"

"Excuse me?" the customer at the front called out.

"You'd better go seat them, and get their drinks. I'll be out in a sec."

Cassandra scampered off to seat the older lady and her granddaughter. Sighing in agitation, Alix closed down the program and walked out to do her duty as head waitress. And that's when she saw him. He wandered by the window, this time in a seemingly sedate mood, and he seemed almost…happy. And were her eyes deceiving her, or had he shaved?

"Miss?" the older lady prompted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes ma'am, what can I get you?"

Taking their order quickly, Alix hurried to the kitchen, and then came back out. He was gone.

"Damn it!" she hissed under her breath.


	3. Grey Sky Morning

**Hurt**

**Grey Sky Morning**

"And today will be another day of rain and sleet, with a slight chance of snow. Better bundle up!"

The bald weather man with the tacky tie and goofy grin droned.

"Ugh. When will the sun shine again?" Alix wondered aloud as she turned off the TV on her way out the door.

It was five in the morning, and she was supposed to open the restaurant so that coffee and pastries could begin to be served by six. She grabbed her old, familiar black pea coat and her tan knit cap. Pulling them on, she made sure she had her keys, and then she left. Her breath crystallized in front of her as she hurriedly crossed the pot hole laden parking lot.

"Come on, come on," she muttered to the car's engine, praying that the cold weather hadn't adversely affected it.

Coughing and sputtering to life, the little white SUV shuttered and then started to hum pleasantly, ready for its task. As Alix pulled out of her space, glancing over one shoulder to make sure she didn't hit anyone, she switched on the radio.

* * *

_**So you stole my world**_

_****__**Now**__** I'm just a phony**_

_****__**Remembering the girl**_

_****__**Leaves me down and lonely **_

"Won't you just stay?" he pleaded. "Just stay and I'll make it up to you, I promise. _Please_."

_**Nothing's quite the same now**_

_****__**I just say your name now **_

"Lisa, _please_. I _need_ you. Don't do this to me."

"Screw you," she said violently.

_**You're only the best I ever had**_

_****__**You don't want me back**_

_****__**You're just the best I ever had**_

He reached out to touch her once more, to pull her into his arms, but she vanished before his eyes, disappearing in a flickering vision. 

_"No! NO!"_

**_And it may take some time to patch me up inside_**

**_But I can't take it so I run away and hide_**

And then she was gone, lost to him for all eternity, all because he had been so blind, so busy, so selfish that he hadn't seen how he'd neglected her. He sat against the cold, lifeless tile in the bathroom, panting like a wounded animal. With shaking hands, he thumped the syringe before ruthlessly jamming it into the scaly purple and scarred skin of his arm.

**_And I may find in time that you were always right_**

**_Y_****_ou're always right _**

"I…I'm s-sorry, so sorry…sorry, sorry…"

**_What was it you wantedCould it be I'm haunted _**

Nothing! I can't find anything! Alix fumed inwardly.

She'd gone through every bit of security footage she could get her hands on, but the tapes only went back for four months. He was no where in sight in any of them.

"You should like totally be like a CSI," Cassandra said from the doorway.

_And you should like, totally learn like some new words, like, yeah,_ Alix mocked silently.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked Cassandra sharply.

"Well, you're like, REALLY being all smart and stuff, trying to find that guy. Why didn't you like, get his number when he like used to come in?"

"I…I think he might be the guy who always sits outside…" Alix replied slowly. "I just want to know who he is to see if my suspicions are correct."

"OH HELL NO! That nasty ass dude from the front is like sooo not him! There's just no way!" Cassandra spat in disbelief. "How could you like think of such a thing?"

She shook her head in disbelief and backed away slowly, turning to go out into the restaurant.

_Thanks for that vote of confidence,_ Alix grumbled inwardly._ I just want to know…is that so wrong?

* * *

_

"Haven't you been listening to me?" she screamed.

"Just tell me what's wrong!" he begged.

"I have told you! But like always, you never listen! I don't know why I even wasted my time on you! You are the biggest mistake of my life, and I wish we'd never met and that you'd never been born!"

**_SLAM!_**

He ripped the shower curtain down, clawing at it as he tried to pull himself up into a standing position. It fell into the tub, sending him flying backward into the window, where his head hit the sill with a sickening thud. All was silent as he slumped back down to the floor.

* * *

"Hi honey, its Mom. Listen, why don't you come on down to your dad's office? He has a friend who would love to have a hard working, beautiful girl like you as a receptionist, and he'll pay well, too. Please, honey, just give it a chance. You have so much more potential to be running yourself ragged in that horrid little diner. All you'd have to do is apply, and get rid of that silly blue stuff in your hair! I know it's hard, but honey, it's been three years and—"

**BEEP.**

The voice mail thankfully cut her short. Alix sighed. She knew her mother meant well, and only wanted the best for her. But her constant interfering agitated her daughter to no end.

_I don't want to be a bimbo who answers the phone at some stuffy, corrupt law office, she though. And Mom, bless you, but you have no idea. Three years is not long enough for me to forget. I'll never forget._


	4. A Little More Conversation

**Hurt**

**A Little More Conversation**

"Hi there," she muttered timidly, knowing it was no use. "I see you shaved. You look good that way, not that you aren't…good looking nonetheless, but, um, yeah. I like the clean shaven look better."

Inwardly, Alix grimaced.

_You're prattling to a stranger, again. You've lost your mind, _she berated herself

He looked up at her again, and for a second, she thought she saw a ghost of a smile pass in his eyes. But the moment was so spontaneous and fast, that she could never be sure if it was just her hopeful imagination, or reality.

"So, um, are you hungry? I brought out some of the vegetarian lasagna that the cook left in the oven a bit too long. It's a little crunchy, but still edible. I hope you aren't offended or anything, but…well, you look like you could use a good meal, and so I thought you might like this, and um…yeah…"

"Ok."

She nearly stumbled backwards when he actually spoke.

"I...I'm sorry?" she stuttered.

"I'll take it," he said, this time a little louder.

"Oh! Ok, right!"

She handed him the foil container and some plastic dining utensils. He gulped the pasta down ravenously, slurping and sucking at the cold noodles like they were the most delicious concoction he'd ever tasted. When he was finished, he handed the pan back to her, without even looking at her.

"Water," he demanded.

"Ok! I'll have to go get it from the kitchen. I'll be right back, just stay here, ok?" Alix replied excitedly.

_He's talking to me! _She thought giddily.

Practically skipping back to the kitchen, she ducked in, skittered past the cooks, and ran to the refrigerator, where she grabbed a bottle of water, and then raced back out the door. The cooks watched her in confusion.

"Crazy girl!" one of them muttered.

As she came back outside, she was relieved to find him sitting where she'd left him. Part of her had expected him to leave, like all the other times she'd given him food. But maybe this time would be different, since he was actually communicating beyond the occasional nod of his head or a grunt.

"Here you go!" she practically sang as she attempted to hand him the bottle with a flourish.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't grab it in time, and so the bottle slipped out of her hands and bounced to the concrete floor, rolling to a stop under his feet.

_CRAP!_ She screamed mentally.

"Sorry, sorry!" she faltered, as she bent down to pick it up.

Handing it back to him, she tried not to blush furiously, but since her skin was so milky white, any source of color was painfully obvious. And then that's when she heard it: his laughter. Instead of being hearty or joyous, the sound was one of cynical amusement.

"Thanks," he grinned wolfishly, flashing a row of straight white teeth.

He gulped the water down in a flash, and then looked up at her with questioning, and unusually perceptive eyes.

He flicked his eyes up at her, registering her face in his addled memory.

_Yes, I remember. You __were the nice one who actually knew what you were doing, _he reflected.

"I remember you."

"You…do?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes. You're the head waitress, right? And you used to have totally blue hair?"

"I am and I did, yes. Why do you ask?"

He smiled ruefully. When he was with Lisa, they'd come in, and she'd always make some comment about the 'freak' waitress with the blue hair. At the time, he thought it was funny. Now…

"It doesn't matter now. Nothing matters…not any more…"

He stood up to leave, but then he seemed to loose his balance a bit, and so he sank back down to the bench. Not knowing quite what to do, Alix reached out instinctively to steady him, but her hands hovered hesitantly over his arms. She didn't want to invade his personal space.

"I don't have rabies or anything," he quipped.

"I…um, I know that…sorry…I just…ah…thought you might need some help…"

"I don't need any help, thanks all the same."

"Oh..."

She lowered her hands to her side, her eyes downcast. This wasn't exactly going where she wanted it. Not really knowing what to do, she started drumming her fingers on her thigh nervously. He just sat there, eyes growing more and more fogged over with the memories.

"I…I have to go…" he mumbled.

He could feel the urge for a fix coming on, but at the same time, a very small part of him struggled to fight it.

_Just wait_, a voice in his head pleaded softly. _Don't go just yet…_

"Wait! Don't go…I…don't …what's your name?" she asked hurriedly.

He looked up at her again, and just smiled, his dark eyes silently pooling with pent up loneliness and frustration.

_If only you knew_…he thought miserably_. You'd never want to know me if you knew what I did__, what kind of__…__ despicabl__e…__ vile and repugnant creature I am. I don't deserve anything from anyone._

"Why does it matter what my name is? You'll forget it in five minutes, and you'll forget me in less time than that, just like everyone else."

He snorted angrily, and then stood up again, brushing past Alix roughly as he stalked away into the frosty evening wind. She watched him, with her mouth agape in confusion and a slight sense of betrayal.

"You're wrong. I'm not everyone else."


	5. Pain

**Hurt**

**Pain**

As the last rays of light filtered through the frosted windows of the little Italian restaurant, a light fog descended upon the place, enveloping it in a dreary gloom that would seem right at home in a Batman cartoon. Alix lighted the little lavender scented votive candles that floated serenely in their little glass dishes atop each red and white cloth covered tabled. As she moved about the eatery, she felt the eerie sensation of a pair of eyes burning a hole into her back.

_Always on time, _she mused.

In a few minutes, she knew they'd show up, and of course, he'd be watching, like always. Alix had taken to calling him 'Phantom', after the title character in her favorite musical, instead of 'Hotness'.

_It suits him better, anyway._

In her mind, the mysterious man to whom she'd grown strangely more and more attached to, seemed to have a dark and tortured aura that enveloped him like a dark, swirling cloak. His silence was his mask that covered up whatever disfigurement it was that had so twisted his once joyful soul. And it didn't take a biochemical engineering major like Cassandra to figure out the root cause of the whole problem: one very beautiful woman named Lisa and her new boy toy, Wes.

_Someone definit__ely traded down. But then again, consider the traitor._

The bell rang above the door dinged, and as if on cue, in she walked, long, wavy chestnut hair flowing gently down in soft curls, dressed in an immaculately put together outfit of a forest green dress and silver shoes.

"Anybody here?" Lisa asked, despite being able to fully see Alix, who was standing only a mere ten or so feet away.

_So __observant, this one._

Alix forced a smile and walked to the front.

"Your usual table, miss?"

"Yes, and I'll be Mrs. soon, if I have my way, which I _always_ do."

_And humble too._

"Would you like me to read you the special? Or do you want to wait for your…the other party?" Alix asked in her most professional voice.

"No. I don't want to have to hear it twice."

"Very well then."

_The patience on this one__…it's like Mother Teresa._

The young waitress turned away to go to the front, where she would be acting as hostess for the night, since Cassandra had quit only a week prior. As head waitress and the most senior employee there, it was Alix's job to make sure that everything ran smoothly while the owner was away, aka do damage control.

_I just hope that tonight is better than last night._

The previous evening was, quit frankly, the night from Hell. At least five families with about three screaming brats a piece decided to descend upon the restaurant at the same time like a pack of screeching vultures. Full plates of spaghetti were unceremoniously dumped on the floor, and multiple pitchers of sticky Coke were consumed, but mostly spilled on the chairs, leaving Alix and the rest of the crew to scrub away the sticky concoction late into the morning hours.

The bell over the door sounded again, and in walked an older couple, approximately in their sixties. The lady was carrying a bouquet of fresh yellow and orange streaked roses that her husband had apparently just given her. The radiant smiles on both their faces touched Alix's heart deeply.

_Now there's an example of true love._

"Would you like me to get a vase for those roses so that they won't wilt?" she asked kindly.

"Oh yes, would you please?" the older woman answered.

"Certainly. Please follow me, and I'll get you seated, and then go get a vase, ok?"

"Thank you dear!"

Upon disappearing into the kitchen to retrieve an unused flower vase, Alix heard the bell for the restaurant door chime once again. She quickly grabbed a vase and hurried back outside, in order to seat the newly arrived customer(s). But when she arrived out front, the only people she saw were the older couple, sitting and chatting like they were new lovers, and a tall, blonde headed woman.

_Where did __that Lisa go?_

Her purse was still hanging on her seat.

_The bathroom, maybe?_

Shrugging, she quickly seated the blonde, and then put the older lady's roses in the vase.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE DUMPING ME?" Lisa screeched, coming once again through the front door, followed by Wes.

"Honey, baby, just listen, ok? You were fun for a while; a good rebound fix, but…well…it's time to move on. Sorry."

_Oh no__ This can't be good, _Alix thought.

"I've decided to go back to my ex, Selina," he said, pointing to the tall blonde.

She smirked and waved.

"Excuse me, but if you're going to have an argument, take it outside, please. I won't have you disrupting any of the other patron's night," Alix stated calmly, pointing to the door. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. _All_ of you."

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" the green eyed brunette fumed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. This is my restaurant to manage, and if you insist on causing problems, I'm going to call the police."

She stood firmly, pointing towards the door.

"Out. _All_ of you."

"Come on darling, let's go. We wouldn't want to get in trouble with the _help_. She might call the police," Selina drawled maliciously.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"

Lisa grabbed Wes's arm.

"I'll go wherever I want, whenever I want, and you can't stop me! No wonder your ex, what's-his-face stopped paying attention to you. I know I certainly did, a long time ago."

He threw her off roughly, shoving her into the table, where she landed with a loud crash and clattering of silverware.

_Oh man, this is __gonna__ be so bad for our insurance._

Alix rushed over to her, trying to help her up, when Wes, fully enraged, pounced upon both of them, cruelly kicking her out of the way in order to get to his prey. And that's when the front door slammed open, and he rushed in, dark eyes blazing in a cold fury. He threw Wes across the room, as though the other man were merely a doll.

"Get out of here, now!" Alix commanded the older couple.

They nodded and scurried away, with the man shielding his wife as she pulled out her cell phone to call the police. Glasses crashed to the floor, and chairs broke into splintering shards as they two men fought, punching and wrestling with each other. Unfortunately, Wes was much healthier, and therefore his body could take the beating better. He finally managed to pin the other man to the ground, and started to rein blows upon him. With every horrific sounding smack of his fist slamming into 'Phantom', Alix grew more and more distraught, and her typically cool demeanor came crashing down.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" she begged.

But Wes didn't listen; he just kept punching, with the other man under him trying desperately to wiggle away.

_I've got to do something! He could be killed!_

Relying on pure instinct, Alix leapt to her feet, grabbed one of the table legs that had been broken off, and slammed it against Wes's head with all her might. He slumped to the ground, and she shoved him aside carelessly, and immediately started to inspect the dark headed man for damage. It was _bad_. His face was covered in sticky crimson blood, and his right eye was starting to swell shut from the plum colored bruise surrounding it. His lips were cracked blood flowed freely from them, as well as from his nose.

"Oh my God," Alix breathed in horror as she tried to gently set his head up in her lap.

His saliva, which had turned a nasty shade of pink as it mixed with the blood, gurgled and spluttered from his mouth as he whimpered in pain.

"Honey, honey, you'll be ok," she whispered as she reached for a cloth napkin lying nearby. "The ambulance is almost here."

She gently tried to wipe away some of the blood from his eyes, but it had already hardened into a flaky, dry crust that sealed his eyelashes shut. The sirens of the police and the ambulance, reached an almost ear-splitting level as the drivers screeched to a halt.

"Police!" a short, stocky officer yelled as he thundered through the door, weapon drawn.

"Over here! He's hurt!" Alix called back.

The EMT medics quickly rushed in, and carefully lifted the man off of her lap and onto the stretcher. As they wheeled him away, Wes stated to come to.

"Officer, this man is responsible for starting a fight in my restaurant, and he nearly attacked me and one of my patrons. If it wasn't for that man on the stretcher, I'm not sure either of us would be alive," Alix said quickly. "And that's all I'm saying until I get my lawyer."

She then rushed passed the police and hopped into the ambulance.

"I'm with him," she stated with such finality that the EMT s didn't bother to ask her anything else.

Gently, she sought out on of his hands, and clasped it delicately, rubbing his swollen knuckles with her thumb. He rolled his head to the side, and though he couldn't open his eyes, a few tears escaped from them.

In a voice barely above a whisper, he managed to gasp; "I'm Andrew."

And then he passed out.


	6. In the Hands of Mortals

**Hurt**

**In the Hands of Mortals**

"Tonight on the eleven o'clock news, we'll investigate the shocking story behind the extensive damage to one of the town's hottest spots, _The Coliseum Café_. But first, Britney Spears has hair!"

Alix turned off the TV in disgust.

_What do they __know about what really happened?_

She pulled her knees up to her chest, and ran a hand through her dark hair. She was exhausted after spending four hours giving her statement to the police and filling out mounds of paperwork, yet she knew no sleep would come to her body tonight. Images of the fight flashed before her hazel eyes, the smashed tables, the broken glass, the horrific noise of Wes's fist cracking Andrew's ribs. Alix closed her eyes to try and wipe away the images, willing herself to only see the darkness of the insides of her eyelids.

_So much blood…__so much pain…_

It was like she could still feel the slimy red stuff on her hands, and though she had taken a shower, it was still there.

_Why does this always happen to me?_

Silent, tiny little tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes.

_I won't be weak. I won't cry, not ever again. I can't._

Sighing, she went into the tiny kitchenette, and pulled out the jug of orange juice from the refrigerator. Not even bothering to get a glass, she just drank from jug.

_I'm being really ladylike, tonight, _she thought in mocking amusement. _First I hit a guy on the back of the head with a table leg, giving him a nasty concussion__, and now I'm swigging out of the jug. Next thing I'll be burping loudly and rearranging myself in public._

She put the jug back and the returned to the darkened living room where the pale blue glow of the digital clock on her DVD player was the only light. Alix flopped down on the couch, not really knowing what to do; she obviously wouldn't be going to work after all the destruction. If she had any money, which she didn't, she'd go shopping. It had been a while since she'd seen the inside of a mall. The idea of having free time was not an appealing thing to her, though it probably should have been, had she not endured what she had for the past few hours. Free time would allow her time to think. And she didn't want that. Suddenly, her cell phone rang.

_What is it now?_

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, I'm Sherry, and I'm a nurse here at the General Hospital. You left your number here, in case we needed to contact you concerning a young man that was brought in earlier."

"I'm listening."

"Well, miss, it seems that a few of his ribs have been cracked, and he's suffered some swelling to his eyes, as well as a broken nose. Fortunately, we didn't have to perform surgery, though we might have had to perform laser eye surgery, had his eyes taken one more strong hit. His retinas are barely attached."

_Oh God!_

Alix's stomach plummeted to her feet.

"I see. Well, thank you for updating me. I assume his family has been notified?"

"Well, that seems to be another problem, miss. His insurance card that was found in his wallet expired three months ago, and when we tried to contact the company to find the closest family member, none were listed. It seems he has no family, and so far, you are the only person we have as a contact. Are you his significant other?"

Alix hesitated uncertainly.

"No. I'm just an acquaintance."

"Oh. Well, he is in room 105 if you would like to visit; our hours are from nine to nine."

"Thank you, I will be there in the morning."

"Very good. Have a good night, miss."

"You do the same."

Alix snapped her phone shut. What was she supposed to do now? With this new and heartbreaking development, she knew for sure now that getting any kind of rest would be futile.

_No family, no friends…nothing__…j__ust lying there, alone, broken, in a sterile and cold hospital room with __no one to care. __How appallingly sad.__ And if I hadn't intervened when I did…he __could__…could__ have been blinded._

She shivered, and grouped for the blanket on the back of the sofa and wrapped herself in its fleecy embrace, desperately trying to get warm.

* * *

The cold, weak winter sunlight barely filtered through the thin, tall window in room 105 of the General Hospital. A tall, prone figure pulled up the blanket as close as he possibly could, but his teeth wouldn't stop chattering. It'd been too long since his last dose.

_Where am I? _He frantically wondered.

His eyes were so swollen that he could barely see, and as he tried to sit up, fiery pain shot through his body. He quickly lay back down. He remembered what happened now. How that…man had tried to harm his beloved. Anger quickly surged through his body, and he clinched his scarred and bruised hands, ignoring the screaming pain in them.

_If only she'd stayed…given me a chance…then no one could have harmed her. I wouldn't allow it._

The door creaked open, and a pleasant looking middle aged woman dressed in pink scrubs peaked in.

"You have a visitor, dear," she said gently as she padded in, followed haltingly by Alix.

The nurse went over to his bed, checking his vitals. Alix stood awkwardly next to her, waiting for him to say something. He looked up at her, eyeing her blankly.

"Everything looks good, sweetie. I'll be outside if you need me. Just press the white button, ok?" the nurse said soothingly.

She left, but as she passed by Alix, she winked slightly.

_What was that about?_ the waitress wondered.

"Do you remember me?" the young woman asked softly.

He regarded her for a minute.

"Yes. You saved my life, but I don't know why you even bothered. It's not like I'm worth the effort."

He rolled his head as far to the side as he could as he to burrow deeper into the pillow to keep from shivering. Alix, noticing that another blanket was at his feet, took it and pulled it up over him, careful not to drop it on his ribs. He watched her curiously. She quickly pulled away once she'd covered him, keeping her hands crossed in front of her, and her eyes on the blue speckled tile on the floor.

"Lisa's fine, she had nothing but a small scratch on her arm. She did, however, demand to press charges against Wes, and so have I, along with my boss. They wanted to press charges against you as well, but Detective Grayson persuaded them not to, since you basically saved her life."

Andrew remained still.

_She's safe. Thank God she's safe, _he thought joyously. _But she still hates me…as she should._

"The restaurant will be closed a few days until the damage can be repaired, though it won't be as expensive as I thought it would be. Your hospital bill will probably cost more than the repairs."

_Hospital bill?__ But I don'__t have the money…and… Oh God! What if they find out? What if they find it in my system?_

Alix noticed that the blood seemed to drain from his face.

"Are you ok?" she asked sharply.

_It's been to long since the last time…_

"No…I…um…it's my head. It hurts."

_I have to get out of here. I can't take it anymore…the reality._

"Oh. That's understandable, considering the beating you took. Do you need some painkillers?"

_I need another fix._

"Yeah."

"I'll go get the nurse, then."

_Must get some now…__must find a way…_

"Ok."

When she left the room, he gingerly got up, wincing and panting in pain.

_I've got to go…must get some more…_

He hobbled over to the window, his hospital gown flapping awkwardly against his upper thigh.

_If I just open it__…slide out, and no one will know…_

Unfortunately for him, the window was sealed shut like a vise, and he was three stories up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" he cried out in a primal scream, hitting the pane with his fist.

Had the window not been made of an especially durable plastic, he would have probably would have shattered his hand on it. Instead, he just reopened up some of his more delicate wounds on his knuckles. The blood bubbled up almost merrily, quickly spilling over and sliding down the cracked skin.

"What's going on? Are you ok?" Alix demanded and she literally vaulted into the room, followed by the nurse.

He just turned around, staring at his bleeding hand in morbid fascination.

"I need another fix."

He fainted.


	7. Legall Speaking

**Hurt**

**Legally Speaking**

Alix bit her lip nervously, her finger hovering over the dial button on her phone.

_Just do it. Make the call._

She punched the little green button. As the dial tone sounded, she took a deep, calming breath.

"Spencer, Webster, and Wood law firm."

"Hello. It's Alix. Is Dad there?"

"Hi honey! I haven't talked to you in ages. Are you ok? I heard what happened on the news the other days," Margaret, the receptionist asked kindly.

"I'm fine."

"Well that's good. I was worried there for a moment. But I know you're a big girl and can take care of yourself."

"I try. Is Dad in a meeting?"

"Oh, no, he's not with anyone at the moment. I'll connect you."

"Thanks."

As the elevator music drifted through the phone, Alix once again tried to steel herself for the inevitable.

_Don't let him get to you. He only wants what he thinks is best for you._

"Hello?"

"Hi Dad, it's me. Listen, I have a quick question about—"

"I'm glad you finally came to your senses and decided to call me about that job Bill is offering you. After that incident at that crap hole you work at, you need to be in a place with respectable people and a good pay check."

She sighed.

"Actually, no that's not why I called. I was wondering if you knew of anyone who does pro bono work for people who can't afford their hospital bills."

An awkward silence passed.

"Dad? Are you there?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I'm here," he said finally.

"Ok, good. So do you know of anybody?"

"Why are you asking me this? You aren't going to try and help some low life punk again, are you? I thought we'd been through this before; you give money to the United Way or another reputable charity, and volunteer at a soup kitchen if you're so intent on saving the world. Or do you not remember the last time you tried to help one of your pet projects? Your mother won't be able to handle it if you have to spend another stint in rehab, and I _certainly_ won't help you start over again financially! I won't pull you out of a hole like that again!" he fumed.

_Oh, that is it! I knew this was a bad idea!_

"Ok, thanks for your help, Dad. I really appreciate it. Bye," she snapped, slamming the phone shut.

_Hmph__! I'll show him! I am perfectly in control of myself. I'm just doing my part as a good citizen and helping out my fellow human being. __Nothing wrong with that, nothing at all._

Grabbing her car keys off the kitchen counter, she yanked the front door open, and slammed it so hard behind her that the entire door frame shook. Alix stomped down the hall, muttering to herself.

_I'm fine, really. I go to counseling every week like I'm supposed to, and I take my meds. Why can't he see that? Can't he understand that helping people isn't a bad thing, and that I won't let myself fall into such a deep depression again? But that's just the way he is, the way both my parent's are. More concerned with how I'll make them look than with how I am. Well, I choose to be the way I am, and I'm fine with me this way. __If they don't like it, too bad._

She flipped open her cell as she stalked across the parking lot.

"General Hospital, how may I direct your call?"

"May I speak with Sherry, the head nurse on duty on the third floor?"

"Hold a moment, and I'll connect you."

Alix got into her car, and revved up the engine. As she peeled out, Sherry came one the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Alix, the girl from yesterday morning."

"Ah yes, I was wondering when you'd call. You're friend is doing well, or better, I should say. However, I thought I should tell you that we've run some tests on his blood, to check for various diseases/controlled substances as is a part of our protocol. The results have just come back, and it seems he has a rather high level of SJ7 in his blood. Do you know if he's a regular user, and what for?" the nurse said.

The young woman frowned for a moment. It'd been a while since she was in the loop in regards to medications."

"No, I'm afraid I don't know. But he's ok, then?"

"Yes, he's doing fairly well, though I think the morphine has caused him to hallucinate a bit, which is not unheard of for some people. I expect him to be released sometime this evening."

"That's good to know. I know you can't tell me exactly, but how much do you think his bill will be?"

"Oh, I'd say somewhere around six thousand dollars. Why?"

"Just curious."

"Well, if I can be of any other help, you'll let me know, won't you? He's a lucky young man to have a friend like you. Why aren't you dating, if I may be so bold to ask?"

Alix wheeled into the bank parking lot with a loud screech of her tires.

_Because he __can't get over his silly ex who never__ gave a fig about him to begin with from what I can tell? __Because he's a shallow idiot who wouldn't know a good woman if she smacked him?_

"I…um…I…don't …never thought about it, I guess."

"Well, then maybe he'll realize what a gem you are after all this."

"I kinda doubt it, but thanks for all your help."

"Any time, dear."

As the nurse hung up, Alix looked at the tall, steel monstrosity towering over her. She took a deep breath and got out.

_He can use it more than I can._

"Hello there, and welcome to our new branch of First Union Bank! Would you like a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven, or some popcorn?" the bubbly teller asked.

"Um, sure."

"Great! And what can I do for you today?"

"I need to see how much money I have in my account."

"Ok, what's your number, and I need to see some ID."

The young waitress gave the red head the necessary information. In a few seconds, the computer displayed her balance.

"It says here that you have eight thousand dollars. Would you like to make a withdrawl?"

"Yes."

"Ok, for how much?"

"All of it."


	8. Weeping Willow

**Hurt**

**Weeping Willow**

Alix walked into the bright, airy lobby of Weeping Willow Rehabilitation Center. It was flooded with brilliant sunlight from the floor to ceiling windows, and large, fuchsia hanging flowering plants hung suspended from the ceiling spilled to the floor with their long, tendrils curling in gentle loops. Large, chocolate brown leather seats sat around heavy cherry wood tables, next to a high white marble fireplace. She walked through the lobby, past the receptionist who was too busy painting her long nails a brilliant shade of pink to even notice the young lady walk past. As Alix wound her way through the rainforest like atrium, she pulled out the piece of paper from her back pocket. She read over the scant information she'd managed to find about SJ7; apparently it was a relatively new substance that was supposed to be used for insomnia. However, it had been rejected by the FDA, because the side effects were severe hallucinations. She came finally, to a closed, mahogany door, with a shiny golden plaque attached to it at eye level. Alix knocked twice.

"Come in!" a cheerful voice sounded.

Alix walked in, and was greeted with a smile by a pleasant looking young woman with flaming red hair and twinkling baby blue eyes.

"Alix, darling! So good to see you! You look wonderful, dear. How are things going for you? I've been so busy with the Center that I haven't had time to call you like I've wanted to. How's that cute little restaurant you work at? I heard that there was some sort of ruckus a few days ago. I hope you weren't hurt. Please! Sit!"

The blue haired waitress smiled gently, and sat down.

_Ever the same, that Christiana._

"So what can I do for you?"

"I…um…I have a…an acquaintance whom I'm rather worried about. I think he's addicted to SJ7. I did some research on the internet, and this is all I could find."

She passed the crumpled paper across the glass covered desk. Christiana took it, and scanned it over, frowning.

"Yes, I've heard of this…it's rather new, only about six months old. Well, honey, you know better than anyone that the only way your friend can have a room here is if they come on their own. A person can only get better if they want to."

Alix sighed. She knew this all to well.

"But give them one of my cards anyway, won't you?"

"I will."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help any more, hon. But how are you doing? Still going to counseling, I hope?" the red head asked kindly.

"Yes, I am."

"Ah, good! Well, I've got another appointment in five minutes. I really don't want to shoo you off like a goose, but, well, you understand the demands I have to deal with."

She smiled, her dimples crinkling merrily. Alix smiled for a second, but it didn't reach her hazel eyes. This was exactly what she had envisioned happening. Still, she had attempted to be hopeful. She stood up, hug her friend gently, and then found her way back to the front. The receptionist was still doing her nails. Sniffing in distain at the overpowering smell of alcohol, Alix shook her head at the time wasting young lady, and strode outside. She took two of the stone steps at a time, and rapidly descended to the grounds, which were lavish and covered with graceful, bowed, Weeping Willows. She made her way to the parking lot, where she climbed in and sped away.

The fevered part of Andrew's mind panted, raged, and cried for more drugs.

_Too long! And there's no escape!_

The door creaked open, and the kind faced nurse from earlier came into view.

"Hello," she said gently. "It's time for you to be dismissed. I've brought your some clothes that were left for you at the front desk, since the ones you came in had to be cut away when you were in the ER."

She handed him a pair of dark jeans, and a speckled grey t-shirt, and a pack of red boxer briefs. He took them from her, wondering who could have known this was his favorite shirt and pair of jeans. Could Lisa have taken pity upon him and brought them to him? But then the sad reality came back to him; she'd hurtled her key at him when she moved out, hitting him in the face. He still had the long, thin scar on his right cheekbone to prove it.

"Better take a shower and clean up a bit before you go," Sherry suggested gently, nodding towards the tiny little bathroom that was attached to his room.

He nodded.

_I must look awful. How long has it been since the last time I showered?_

He sniffed the air.

_Too long._

Gingerly, he got up, shuffled his stiff legs to the bathroom, and shut the door. Pulling slowly at the strings of his hospital gown, he let the green and purple polka dotted smock flop to the floor. He stood, stark naked, staring at himself in the full length mirror on the back of the dull grey door. His ribs, which were bound tightly in bandages, seemed to stick out like the exeo-skeleton of an insect. His legs seemed withered and bent, and his arms drooped sadly against his body.

_Ugly, skinny, freak._

_He closed his eyes, gulping dryly._

_Just a quick shower and I can leave._

He stepped in the small plastic shower, hunched over as much as his bandages would let him, and turned on the searing hot water. It washed over him, plastering his dark, longish hair to his face. He turned around slowly, and washed himself as best as he could. Then, taking a plain, white, thin bath towel, he dried off and pulled on his boxer briefs and jeans. A small, black plastic razor had been set out on the sink, with a can of nondescript shaving cream. Andrew picked it up, shook it, and sprayed a dollop into his hand. Smearing the white stuff over his face, he grasped the razor, and in a few long, precise strokes, he removed weeks worth of growth on his chiseled face. After putting on some deodorant, he pulled on the shirt, and slipped the hospital booties back on his feet.

"Um…I'm ready…I…uh…where do I pay?" he asked uncertainly at the nurse's station.

"Oh, don't worry about that, hon. That nice young lady who came to visit you has taken care of everything. She did, however, leave this for you."

Sherry handed him a small envelope. He took it curiously, and shuffled to a chair to sit down. If he stood too long, his back started to throb uncontrollably. With shaking fingers, he ripped the white envelope open. Inside were two objects. The first was a bus ticket that would allow him to travel anywhere in the city. The second was a card for Weeping Willow Rehabilitation Center. On the back, scrawled blue ink was a cell phone number, Alix's name, and the phrase "You should call them. Take it from a friend who understands; you need help."

He flipped the card back over, a sickening feeling in his stomach.

_She knows._

"Something wrong, dear?" Sherry asked concernedly.

"N-no," he lied.

_What am I going to do? This girl knows, and…_

He stood up, smiled feebly at the nurses, and hobbled out the doors, to the elevators. When he reached the ground floor, he shuffled outside. The bright sunlight assaulted his eyes cruelly. A pretty young nurse noticed him standing there, looking woefully lost.

"Do you need some help?" she asked kindly.

"Uh…do you know where the nearest bus stop is?"

"It's down at the end of the driveway, at the corner of the parking garage."

"Thanks."

"No problem, handsome."

_Me? I'm not handsome…not anymore. A skinny little drugged up rat is what I am._

As he waited for the bus, he debated endlessly in his mind.

_I need to get help. I can't keep living like this._

_NO! All I need is to get home and get another fix. It'll all be better then. That girl will soon enough forget about me, and everything will return to normal._

_But she's already done so much; I should at least repay her…and she…understands…_

_How could she? No one can._

_Just make the call._

The blue and white bus screeched to a halt with an ear splitting squeal of its breaks. Slowly, with aching muscles, Andrew stood up, and climbed aboard, handing his ticket to the mannish looking woman in the driver's seat.

"Where to, hon?" she rasped in a voice marred by cigarette smoke.

He gave her his address, and lowered himself down into the front seat where he'd have enough room to stretch out his long legs. Muffled, canned music blared from scratchy speakers as they traveled, the bus lady stopping every so often to let other passengers on board. Each one was filthier than the last, and for once in a great while, Andrew felt a tiny bit better about his appearance. When it came finally time for him to get off, he gingerly stood up, trying not to cry from the pain in his ribs, arms, hands, and face. The hospital had sent him on a day's worth of painkillers; the rest he'd have to get through the pharmacy, or, he mused, through other, more, alternative methods. Stored along side his precious hallucinogen was several bottles of high powered pain killers. His addled mind seemed to zero in on those bottles, and he could think of nothing else. As quickly as his injured body would allow, he strode purposefully towards the front door. It was unlocked, as always, since he didn't care if anyone came in to steal anything from him. He had nothing left of value, as far as he was concerned.

"What the…"

He walked in to find the living room vacuumed neatly, with freshly cut yellow daisies sitting primly in a small glass vase on the spotless coffee table. Dumbfounded, he moved through the house. Every room was neatly cleaned, with not a speck of dust or dirty in sight. Usually, stagnant piles of dirty clothes littered the floor, and six months worth of dust had collected on every visible surface. He moved to the kitchen. The trash, which he only emptied when the smell was so rank that even he could smell it in the middle of a hallucination, was empty. The floor was mopped to a sparkly shine, and all of the skid marks made from him scooting out the chair roughly were gone.

"I hope it isn't too clean, for you," a soft voice said quietly from behind.

He whirled around. Standing timidly next to the refrigerator was Alix.

"You?" he gulped.

She nodded.

"But why?"

She shrugged.

"It need to be done."

"But…how did you find me?"

She blushed ever so slightly.

"I did a bit of detective work. I have a few contacts in the Department of Transportation, who were able to find you license for me. From there, I was able to track down your address. I came here, and finding the door unlocked, I let myself in. I think you can figure out what happened from there."

But instead of looking happy, relieved, or grateful, like she had hoped, he looked positively furious. Even though he was rather frail looking, he still was considerably taller and larger than her five foot six, one hundred and fifteen pound frame. Sensing that she might be in danger, she started to back away slowly.

"Who do you think you are?" he snapped, his dark eyes flashing dangerously as he drew himself up to his full, imposing height.

She said nothing, trying not to provoke him or show her growing panic, but her hazel eyes were clearly dilated in fear. In one long stride, he was almost on top of her, and he seized her arm roughly.

"Get out!" he bellowed, the bass of his voice causing the vase of daisies to quiver a bit.

"B-but I was only trying to help," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"You've helped enough, and I didn't need it or ask for it. OUT!"

He shoved her so roughly that she tripped over backwards, and to his horror, hit her head on the corner of the coffee table. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fell eerily still. There was no blood, but…

_Oh my God, I've killed her!_

Andrew quickly bent down, cursing loudly at the pain. He felt her wrist. There was a fait pulse.

_I've gotta call for an ambulance!_

He reached for the portable phone that was standing in its cradle, next to the sofa. There was no dial tone. The phone company had cut off his service when he hadn't paid the bill months ago. And the same was true for his cell phone. He patted her down frantically, searching for her cell phone. She hadn't brought it with her. Straining, he lifted her onto the couch, and then sprinted outside, his adrenaline overriding the stabbing pain all over his body. He went over to the neighbors on the right, but they were gone for the day. So he went to the neighbors on the left, but these people were old and deaf, and didn't hear him yelling and banging on their door because they were in the backyard, feeding the squirrels.

As he was scouring the neighborhood to find someone, any one with a phone so that he could call for help, Alix slowly regained her consciousness. Realizing where she was, and not wanting to be threatened any more, she sat up quickly, even if the room did a 360, and fled to her SUV, which was parked a few houses down. Everything was a blur, not only from the massive, throbbing pain in the back of her swollen head, but from the huge tears that flooded down her cheeks. How she made it safely back home without running into someone, she didn't know. She raced upstairs, not bothering to even take the elevator, and flung herself into her apartment, where she slumped against the door, weeping.

_They were right. I shouldn't have gotten involved. It's not my problem, what he does with his life. If he wants to ruin it, then that's his problem, not mine. Why do I have to be cursed with such a kind heart? Why am I always the one to suffer? Why me?_

Andrew finally had to come back home. He was covered in sweat, his shirt sticking to his back. When he walked, barely able to move from the wracking pain that engulfed his body he saw that the couch was empty. She was gone. Not knowing whether or not to be glad that she was alive, or scared that she'd call the police, he didn't know. All he knew was that he needed painkillers, and his drug, and he needed them now. Staggering down the hall, he barged into the barged into the tiny bathroom. He ripped open the mirror to the medicine cabinet. To his horror, all his vials were gone, and only a few bottles of over the counter painkillers, like Advil, remained. In the place of his stash of needles was a card. He picked it up. It was for Weeping Willow Rehabilitation Center.


	9. Call Me When You're Sober

**Hurt**

**Call Me When You're Sober**

It was relatively easy for Alix to build up her depleted bank account again. She worked everyday for a month, from five in the morning when she arrived to help set up for breakfast, to midnight, when she helped clean up. Paid ten dollars an hour, plus tips, she gained enough money to be able to pay all her bills, and have some emergency cash in the bank. She threw herself into her work with such a ferocious energy that the owner of the restaurant fired the manager, and promoted her. She should have been happy. But how could she, when the final encounter with Andrew kept replaying in her mind, like a DVD with a scratch on it that caused it to be unable to move to the next scene. Only by the way of fatigue was she slowly able to let the horrible vision lessen in her mind.

One benefit of all her hard work, besides the boost in income, was that she was so bone tired every night when she went home, that she was able to dreamlessly sleep. She was glad that her short nights weren't plagued with nightmares as they usually were. But…still…sometimes, she almost wished for her insomnia to return. At least then she wasn't constantly fighting to stay awake during the day. It seemed that now she was exhausted all the time. No matter how many hours of deep, relaxing sleep she got, every time she opened her eyes in the soft darkness of early morning, she was just as tired as when she laid her head down.

* * *

As she bustled around tables in the midmorning, pre-lunch rush, the gentle, jazzy sounds of Michael Bublé wafted through the sound system. Alix hummed absent mindedly to the retro, Rat Pack song, a small smile on her pretty lips. 

"You're in a good mood today, love," an old, grandfatherly man with a full head of snowy white hair said kindly. "It's so nice to see you smile; I don't know why you don't do it more often."

His name was Jack, and he was a regular, who always came in at exactly eleven forty five. He always ordered the special, with a raspberry lemonada and tiramisu. Alix grinned broadly this time.

"I love this song," she said simply as she set his pasta primavera in front of him.

"I remember when Frank Sinatra first sang this song. My girl at the time, Mable, was in love with Old Blue Eyes. She told me that if he ever asked her to come with him, she'd go without a glance back in my direction."

He smirked.

"Fortunately for me, Frank never came. We would have been married forty five years, this May, if she hadn't passed away two years ago."

At this, his usually bright blue eyes faded a bit. Alix felt a pang of sadness for Jack.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Me too. She was a hell of a gal. Got me off of booze and straightened me up…well…as much as she could."

He smiled roguishly and winked, and sprinkled some parmesan cheese on his pasta.

"You know, you look a lot like her…a bit too skinny, but I know you girls now feel like you have to be sticks for the boys to like you. Sad, really, if you ask me. Women should have curves, and be damn proud of 'em. If you didn't you'd be a boy."

Just then, the bell to the door sounded.

"Excuse me," Alix said as she looked up to see a flower delivery boy standing there, holding a vase of white lotus flowers.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, uh, I think these are for you."

He shoved the vase in her hands, checked something off on his clipboard, and hurried away to the green van outside, and drove off to his next destination. Puzzled, she set the vase down. She knew all about flowers…her mother had forced her to tend to the family's garden when she was living at home. Unfortunately, that experience had forever put Alix off gardening. Not that she didn't like flowers; she did, but every time she looked at a garden, she flashed back to hot summer days spent digging weeds, watering, and planting. It wouldn't have been so bad, if only her mother hadn't taken credit for all of Alix's work, and bragged loudly to anyone who'd listen about 'her' garden.

A small white envelope was stuck in a plastic holder.

"Your boyfriend send you some flowers?" Jack asked pleasantly.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Alix answered matter-of-factly as she ripped open the blank envelope.

"Oh? Well, then, the boys your age are even dumber than I thought."

She smiled quickly, but returned her attention to the flowers. A small, light pink card was inside. She pulled it out, and there were only two words written on it.

"Forgive me."

* * *

Andrew sat in his daily therapy session, his mind not on the discussion at hand. 

_I wonder if she's gotten them ye__t. The lady at the flower shop said that they should have been delivered about eleven o'clock._

He glanced at his watch.

_Eleven forty five. Hopefully__ by now…_

Fortunately, the session ended, and he shuffled out of the door, one of the last to leave. As he walked through the brilliantly lit corridor with its bright, cheerful cream colored walls, Christiana, the director of Weeping Willow Rehabilitation Center walked past. She smiled at him, asking him how he was doing.

"I'm alright," he answered truthfully.

"Well, you look lovely, dear," she said sweetly.

It was true. He'd gained about ten pounds of the fifty that he'd lost over the six months of his hellish addiction. His skin didn't seem quite so taught and waxy white, his hair was glossier and fuller, and his ribs were finally about to completely heal.

"Thanks."

He walked further down the hall and entered the bright, sunny, humid atrium. It was Christiana's firm belief that nature, flowers, and plants were essential to the rehabilitation process. Everyday, he and the other patients were required to go to a gardening class to help them learn how to care and nurture the various tropical plants that grew in the atrium. It was his job to tend to the palm trees, since he was by far the tallest person there. The patients, or inmates as they called themselves, had started calling Christiania 'Poison Ivy' behind her back, due to the fact that she had red hair and was obsessed with plants. He grinned slightly at the thought. She'd kill them all, if she knew.

He made his way over towards the residential side of the building, and went to his room, number seven. It was simple, with only a bed, TV, dresser, and a chair for furniture. He shut the door behind him and walked over to the window, looking out over the vast grounds and sighed.

_I really wish things hadn't wound up this way. But I know I can't go back and fix my mistakes, as much as I tried, and look where that got me.__ The love of my life is gone to who knows where, and the one person who cared for me is a complete stranger. And I blew her off like she was nothing…but she still helped me._

He shook his head and snorted cynically.

_At least I can find her to apologize. I don't know why she still works at that place. I wouldn't, not after what all's happened. But as soon as I get back on my feet and start up my own advertising business, I'm going to send her a check for paying for my hospital stay. It's the least I can do._

Andrew went to his bed and lay down. He had thirty minutes of free time until lunch at twelve thirty. He flipped on the TV, and surfed through the channels to see if he could find anything to his liking. Unfortunately, the only programs on at this time were either soap operas or game shows, neither of which he liked.

_Nothing but crap on TV. __Lovely._

He turned it off, and then checked his watch. It was twelve fifteen.

_I suppose I could walk around for a bit until I have to go to lunch…_

He swung his long, gangly legs over the bed and stood up slowly. It still hurt his chest if he sat up or stood up too quickly, but the pain was considerably less than it used to be. Walking back out into the hall, he wound his way around to the front, and into the lobby. It was the first time he'd been in the airy entry way since the day he'd checked in over a month a go. The receptionist glanced up at him and nodded pleasantly. He returned the greeting in kind, and then ambled over to the fireplace to look at the intricately carved marble. Running his long, light fingertips over the carvings, he happened to glance up at the painting hanging above the fireplace. It was of a massive, red poppy.

_Very Georgia O'Keefe-__ish_

The bell for lunch rang, so he left the painting and the fireplace, and went to the dining hall. All of the sudden, a chuckle erupted from his lips.

_I feel like I'm Harry Potter, living at Hogwarts. I go to my 'classes' at the right time, and eat in the dining hall, and sleep in the dorm. Fortunately, I don't have to wear those cape things. Who'd want to wear a cape, anyway?

* * *

_

_Forgive me._

The words ran over and over again in Alix' head as she tried to go about her work. Forgiveness, while a simple concept, and one she was quite good at…seemed so…difficult. She'd done so much, lost so much for someone who didn't know her, didn't want to know her, and yet…

"Excuse me miss?" a loud, grating voice said. "I want more Sprite."

Alix smiled tightly and snatched the fat lady's glass off the table, and marched into the kitchen, where she refilled it. After returning to the table to deposit the drink, she went back to brooding.

_He had to have gone. It's the only way he could be so sober….maybe if I just…stop by for a minute, on the pretense of seeing Christiana…_

"Check!"

* * *

Alix took a deep breath.

_Just get out of the car, go inside, and get it over with._

She took the keys out of the ignition.

_Ok. I can do this._

She opened the door, and stepped onto the parking lot.

_Just say that you got the flowers, and the message._

She walked inside.

"May I help you?" the nail-polishing receptionist asked.

"Yes, um, I'm, ah, here, to see a patient."

"Oh, ok. Who are you here to see?"

"I, ah, don't know his last name, but his first name is Andrew. He's tall, probably about six foot four...black hair, brown eyes. Looks a bit like Christopher Reeve."

"Oh! Of course! He's in room seven. I'll page him."

Alix stood nervously as she waited for him to come to the lobby.

_Room seven? That was my…_

He entered the lobby, and looked startled to see her. Cautiously, he approached, trying to put on a professional air.

"Hello," he said in his deep, rumbling voice.

"Hi," she squeaked.

"I guess you got the flowers."

"Yes. They were lovely. Um…I…"

She glanced over at the receptionist, who was clearly eavesdropping on them. Following her line of sight, he flicked his chocolate brown eyes over at the receptionist.

"Do you want to go for a walk? I don't have to be back until five, for another therapy session."

"Ok."


	10. Shadows of the Past

**Hurt**

**Shadows of the Past**

The pair wound their way around to the mock river that snaked its way through the center. Both were quiet, but in different ways. Andrew seemed to be nonchalantly ambling along, careful to walk slow enough not to hurt his slightly sore torso. Alix, on the other hand, was skittishly quiet, her sharp, hazel eyes darting to the man in front of her and back to the road in a quick movement that betrayed her nervousness, despite her attempts to appear otherwise. She stayed several steps behind him, just in case she needed to break out into a run and leave.

"You know you don't have to stay with me if you don't want to," he said quietly over his shoulder as he stopped to lean against the railing of one of the wooden bridges that breached the river. "But I promise I won't hurt you."

She stiffened at this accurately placed assertion of her thoughts. She was wary of him, as she knew she logically should be. But then again, if she was so scared, why was she alone with him, away from the Center and anyone who could help her?

"How long are you in for?" she asked, not wishing to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she knew he knew she was nervous.

He laughed shortly, in a choppy, almost bark like laugh.

"You make it sound like I've gone to prison."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. Everyone here acts like it's a punishment to be here, but me…I like it…or I can tolerate it at least. It's…peaceful."

He smiled a little sad smile, one that she recognized immediately because she so often wore it herself.

"I know," she agreed.

"You know what?" he asked.

"I mean, I know what you mean when you say it's peaceful here."

She looked out over the water, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Ah."

She glanced furtively back at him. The weak light from the afternoon sun glittered off the water and reflected dimly on his chiseled face and one particular spec of light seemed to be tracing a gently finger over his impossibly high cheek bones, and then down his firm jaw, finally resting for a moment on the dimple in his chin. Not realizing that she was staring at that little spot of light as it danced its way down his face, Alix gave a start when he spoke to her again.

"Why did you do it?"

He turned to face her, onyx eyes suddenly firm and imposing. Even though he was leaning over the railing, she felt suddenly tiny against his tall, arresting frame.

"What do you mean?"

She fidgeted uncomfortably. Everyone kept asking that, and each time she never could come up with a satisfactory answer.

"Why did you help me? You don't know me. Why did you care?"

"Do you want the politically correct answer, or the truth?"

"The truth."

"You won't like it."

"Tell me," he commanded in his deep, but soft voice.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the words that she was about to say.

"I...I felt compelled to help you; it was like this unquenchable desire to do the things I did. I can't explain it...it was like if I didn't, my whole world would end. I...remember the way you used to be, how happy and kind you were when you would come in...all the waitresses fought with each other to get your table not only because you were a great tipper, but because you are so incredibly handsome. They all wanted to be in Lisa's seat, and I think you knew that, but yet you were still kind to them. I guess deep down, I wanted to have some of that kindness back in my life...I wanted to make you happy again."

The words flew out of her mouth in a jumble of consonants and vowels, each word coming faster than the last, as though she was afraid if she didn't spit out what she had to say in on breath, she'd loosed all her courage and not be able to finish. And as she predicted he would do, his eyes widened, and he took a small step back in surprise.

"I see," was all he said.

Inwardly, Alix grimaced.

_He probably thinks I'm some sick, stalker freak or something._

"I should probably leave now," she said quickly, turning around to make a hasty, and graceful as possible exit.

"Why? Do you have to go somewhere?"

"No…" she replied hesitantly.

"Then stay with me…please…" he sounded like a lost little boy, the way he barely breathed out 'please'.

"Alright."

She turned back around and took about two steps closer towards him, and bent over the railing in a similar fashion.

"You probably think I'm a freak, huh?" she stated more than asked.

Considering his words for a moment, carefully picking the right thing to say, he shook his head.

"No…not really. After what I've been through and the things I've seen, I don't think I'm really in any position to judge anyone. Still…you didn't have to be so…kind."

"It's a character flaw," she said coldly.

"W-what?" Andrew laughed incredulously. "I hardly think that kindness can ever be a flaw…even if it is unexpected and a bit…misguided."

"For me it is. I…my problem is that I want to help people too much, even when they don't deserve it and I get hurt and taken advantage of in the end. I…I have a strong savior complex. It's…"

"Complicated?" he offered.

"Yeah. Complicated."

He nodded in agreement.

"So… since this seems to be a time of confession, why did you take the drug?" Alix asked quietly.

His lips twisted into a rueful smile.

"Ah. The million dollar question. Well, I did because I was too much of a coward to admit that I'd screwed up and then lick my wounds and move on. Those times when Lisa and I were together, and happy, those were the best times of my life. And I wanted that happiness back, something that apparently you relate too. Now I wish I'd just…never…never experienced anything. Sometimes I think its better not to feel. At least then you don't…ache."

He glanced over at her, where she was surprisingly nodding in agreement.

"I understand exactly what you mean."

"Do you now?"

"Yeah."

"Something tells me there's more to you than just at pretty girl who likes to help people too much."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just…you remind me of some of the people here…you look…well…lost."

Now it was her turn to look surprised. That was not something she was expecting him to say. He looked a bit bashful, realizing that he must have struck a major nerve. It wasn't like he wanted to make her uncomfortable, he'd just noticed that for someone so gentle, she seemed so misplaced. It was like she never quite belonged in any environment he'd ever encountered her in.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you."

"No…no I'm not offended…just…surprised. You're the first person to realize…to say it to my face, at least."

She sighed, the painful memories flooding back. She hated this story.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Well, you do know everything about me and my problems…but if you don't want to tell me, I understand."

Alix furrowed her brow in indecision. On one hand, he was a stranger, and she didn't want to get involved with him anymore. He'd caused her too much pain as it was, and if he knew her past, the struggles she'd overcome, just to go right back where she started, well, that'd be too much to handle. On the other hand, what could he do? He was still stuck here, while she was free to go back to the real world to live her life. It's not like they ever had to see each other again.

"So…I um…well…let me start from the beginning," she said tremulously.

"That's usually the best place to start," he grinned, trying to get her to lighten up a bit with a joke.

Too bad she was so nervous she didn't get it.

"I've …always like to help people, ever since I was a child. My parents tell the story of when I was only a year old, and I was watching TV, when a commercial for starving children came on. I held up a fist full of soggy Cheerios to the TV, as if to give it to the children. When I was older, like in high school, I organized numerous drives for canned food, clothes, toys, etc, for the poor. And when I went to college, I met a friend who shared a similar interest in helping people. That friend was Christiana. She was studying to be a psychiatrist, while I was studying to be a business and finance major. Together, we formed the complex where you and I are now. I started this place."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Really? Then why aren't you still here, helping run it?"

"Because I can't….not anymore. I…don't have the will. About five years ago, when we'd just opened up, there was this…man…he and I…against my better judgment and the warnings of everyone else…I fell in love with him, which is a big no-no, since he was a patient. He…he stole my identity and all my money. And so I…I got so depressed I thought about suicide, but I wasn't that selfish. I couldn't do it. So I quit my position as the head of the finance department at the Center, and checked myself into the very place I'd helped build. And oddly enough, you have my old room, room number seven."

When she finished, she fell immediately silent.

_That wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was __gonna __be__…_

"I'm sorry. Believe me, I know what it's like to love someone, and have them rip your heart out and stomp on it. I used to be in advertising…I was one of the highest paid guys on my team. But now…"

He snorted ruefully.

"I'll be lucky if I can get an internship anywhere. And it sucks, because I've got to do something, once I get back on my feet…but I don't know what. I could always start my own business, but I don't have enough cash for that, especially after I finish paying for my stay here. Why'd you guys have to go and make everything so expensive, anyway?"

She always hated that question, whenever patients asked it. It wasn't like private institutions like Weeping Willow Rehabilitation were eligible to receive government funding, so they had to charge hefty fees to keep everything running.

"Well, first off, there's the energy bills which are enormous for a place the size of the center, and then there's the staff, the food, the grounds upkeep, and don't forget the laundry, and taxes, etc. Really, the price you pay is quite equitable, once you consider all of those outside factors," she rambled quickly in a well practiced speech that she still remembered.

By now, the sun was starting to set in the horizon, blazing the sky in a brilliant display of lavender, pink, and gold. Andrew lowered his head, studying his reflection in the water. His hair fell in a silken wave partially hiding his face from her. He was silent a moment as if weighing his words, deciding how best to respond. When he raised his head, he regarded her from behind the ebony veil. His hand reflexively brushed his hair away from his eyes. Alix was unprepared for the warmth she found in their coffee colored depths. Her breath escaped her in a shuddering sigh and a languid peace flowed through her vein as thick and comforting as honey.

Alix gave herself a mental shake.

_I've been through this before? What's wrong with me? You'd think I'd learn__…_

But looking up into his clear, compassionate eyes she felt her well built walls begin to crack at their foundations. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to step forward and be wrapped in the circle of his arms...

"Oh my God, it's six forty five," he stated, clearly surprised. "Oh, they're gonna kill me! I missed my therapy session, and dinner. We've got to go back, now!"

He stood up quickly, and tried to break out into a jog. Unfortunately, he was still not completely healed, and so he shuddered to a stop quickly, leaning heavily against the rail, sucking in his breath tightly through his teeth.

"Are you ok?" Alix said quickly, as she appeared in a flash at his side.

He nodded grimly.

"Here, lean on me, and we'll walk back together," she offered, holding her arm out for him to grab onto.

Slowly, he wrapped one long, sinewy arm around her shoulder, as the other grabbed her free hand for support.

"Thanks," he mumbled as the shuffled along. "You're really something, you know? I don't know what I'd do without you."

He smiled at her, this time, a true and genuinely grateful gesture, and in doing so, it seemed like a pound of monarch butterflies were released in her belly. Blushing slightly, she just shrugged. Once they reached the entrance again, he let go, leaving her feeling cold without the warmth of his body snuggled up against hers.

"So, um…I'll be seeing you?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm always around."


	11. I'm Not Sleeping Alone

**Hurt**

**I'm Not Sleeping Alone**

Andrew turned over restlessly in the twin bed that was almost too short for his height. He kicked away furiously at the blanket, as though it were a poisonous snake about to bite him. His eyes danced rapidly behind closed lids, flitting back in forth as though scanning furiously at a page of text. Colors swirled before those eyes, twisting and turning, finally taking shape in the form of a dream…a memory. And this was the part that he hated and loved at the same time. It was where he was plagued with images of the past…of the way things used to be before the darkness…before Alix. He dreamed of those pastoral days spent with Lisa.

"Do you want to move in with me?" he asked Lisa nervously. "I mean, I don't want to rush you or anything, and all…"

"Ok, but I get the walk-in closet to myself!" she giggled.

He smiled, his heart filled with joy. This was just what he wanted; he had a job that he loved and that paid well, a wonderful, beautiful girlfriend with whom he knew he could spend his life with, and he'd just bought his first house as a crowning achievement for all his hard work. Yes, he was certain things could only get better from here.

It was late autumn, and the two of them walked side by side down the street, wrapped up in each other's arms. They'd just returned from a picnic, and the sun was already starting to set in the sky. Before going inside their new home, he pulled her into a soft kiss, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.

"I love you," he whispered.

They disappeared inside, and headed straight for the bedroom.

But then those soft metallic colors of fall twisted into winter. He started to shiver, and blindly sought out that blanket he had only moments ago thrown away.

"Why do you have to work all the time? It's Christmas! I want to go shopping with you, and to see the lights, but you always have something more important than _us_ going on."

"It's a really big project; I have to work on it, I'm sorry. My boss says that if my design gets picked up, I'll get a really nice Christmas bonus…and then we can go shopping. That's why I waited; I wanted to have more cash to splurge on you."

"Oh."

And then she smiled at him again, and hugged him.

But those hugs became more and more far apart as the months dragged on; because he'd done so well on that project over Christmas, he'd been promoted. Now he worked more than ever, and Lisa was more and more disillusioned with him. The gifts he bought went unopened; they were pushed aside without care. Now they barely had any time for each other.

His mind flashed forward to one night when he was working late at night. She had tried to get him to come to bed, but he just brushed her away. That had been the beginning of the end. The next day, she was out of the house.

"Nrggh…" he moaned into his pillow as he burrowed further into it.

His right arm groped the cold bed for where Lisa would have been, had she still been sleeping with him, and had they been at home. Not finding the warm body that it so craved, his arm flopped defeatedly to the side, dangling off the bed. Grunting and whimpering some more, he rooted around in the sheets, before finally waking up. Andrew sighed exasperatedly, and ran his hands over his face, rubbing his tired eyes and flipping his ebony hair, which was quite long now, almost covering his ears, out of his eyes. He knew that he'd never get back to sleep now. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it registered five in the morning. Alix would be up by now, he knew. Maybe he'd just call her for a minute or two. She did have a very soothing voice; he often teased her and said she sounded like an NPR DJ.

Quietly shuffling to his dresser, he got out his cell phone which he'd just been allowed to have back full time after a long while of only being allowed to use it on certain times. Two rings later, and Alix answered.

"Hey," she said softly. "Didn't sleep well, again?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. Did you try listening to music before going to bed? What about taking a warm shower?"

"I tried all that…didn't work."

"Oh. Well, better luck next time."

"Yeah, maybe."

"So…" she said, implying that she was asking why he was calling.

"Can you take today off? I'm allowed to go into town for a few hours today. I thought maybe we could meet at the bookstore or something. I've read every good book in this place at least twice, and I've got to get something new."

"Um…I'll see. I'll call you back in about forty five minutes, ok?"

"Alright."

"Try and rest in the mean time."

"I will."

"Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

The rehab van stopped in front of the local book and entertainment store, and Andrew and a few others got out. The wind was a sharp, bighting breeze that cut at his cheeks and caused his eyes to water a bit, so he flicked up the collar of his tan jacket and hugged his arms close to his chest as he scurried inside. Once in the warm embrace of the honey colored wooden doors, he relaxed a bit, inhaling the wonderfully nutty aroma from the coffee shop. He wandered farther inside, looking at the new released movies with interest. He hadn't been to the movies in ages…he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to sit in a darkened theater, munching on popcorn as he waited eagerly for the credits to roll and the music to swell.

"Can I help you, sir?" a mousy looking young girl squeaked.

He turned around to look down at her.

"Yeah, um, I'm supposed to meet my friend. She's got really bright blue streaks in her hair. You can't miss 'er."

"Oh, um, no, I haven't…do you want me to page her?"

"Nah, I'll look around for her. Thanks, though."

"Ok."

He went to wander around the store, and upon walking down one isle, he came upon Alix, who was engrossed in a glossy comic book. At the sound of his footsteps, she slammed the book shut and tried to hide it behind her back.

"Hey!" she said quickly.

"Hi. Did I interrupt something?" he asked, bemused.

"No, I was just, um, looking around. So, did you find anything?" she inquired, trying to distract him enough to surreptitiously slide the comic back onto the shelf.

"No, but I see that you did. Whatcha reading?"

In one swift movement, he grabbed the comic from her.

"So you're a Batman fan, eh?" he grinned as he flipped through _Batman: Hush._ "I would have pegged you as a Superman kind of girl."

"Well, I um…I like both, actually, but yeah, I like Superman better…I um…even...have a tattoo…but…uh…this storyline is really good, and um…yeah."

She blushed furiously, drumming her fingers nervously against her side. Smiling even more broadly, he handed it back to her.

"I just never would have thought of you as a comic book geek. I figured you'd be in the financial section, reading up on the latest investing tips or something."

She rolled her eyes in disgust.

"You read one of those books, you've read them all. They just regurgitate each other's work in different words. I had to read enough of that crap in college. I can still recite whole chapters from my economics book, I'm sad to say."

"Nerd," he teased.

"Yes, and?"

He laughed quietly, his onyx eyes crinkling up in merriment.

"You don't deny it?"

"No…I figure there are a lot worse things I could be."

"True…"

"So, how are you doing?" she asked concernedly. "You look better since the last time I saw you a few weeks ago at the Center. How are your ribs?"

"They're a lot better…no more bruises and I can actually stand up and sit down without feeling like someone's stabbing me a thousand times over with a red hot needle."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, it is. I don't feel like an old man hobbling around everywhere."

By this time they had moved away from the comics section towards the best seller section, where two overstuffed, emerald green were tucked away between two book cases. They sat down, and Andrew picked up a copy of _Atlas Shrugged _from where it had been left on the table in between the chairs. He read it casually, not wanting to appear rude by not talking, but still intrigued by the tome in hand. She fell silent, not wanting to disrupt his reading. As he became more and more engrossed in the book, she couldn't help but giggle mentally. He looked like a little boy who'd become enthralled with a particularly action packed adventure of pirates and scallywags; his hair hung in his face, and his nose was scrunched up in concentration as he read. Before either of them knew it, it was time for him to go, because another one of the patients came and told him that the van would be there in five minutes.

"I can get that for you, if you want to buy it. I have a discount card," she offered.

"No, it's alright; you've done more than your fair share in paying for things for me. I still am going to pay you back for my hospital bill."

"Oh, that's not necessary, I did it because I wanted to…you don't have to fill obligated to repay me."

He turned around sharply to face her.

"But I need to…to show that I've moved on. Please, let me do this…I need to prove to myself that I can work and be a normal, productive human being again," he almost pleaded.

"Ok, if you feel you must, then I won't stand in your way."

"Good."

They went to the checkout counter, where the same young girl from earlier was standing.

"Oh, I see you found your girlfriend," she said happily.

The dead silence that fell over the group immediately made the girl realize that she'd made a grave mistake.

"We're not dating," he said finally, with such authority that no one else dared say anything else.

While it hurt Alix that he said what he did so forcefully, as though the idea of dating her was repulsive, she knew logically that he didn't mean rude by his words. They weren't dating, and probably never would. Friends? Most likely. But lovers? She doubted that. He was too scarred to let anyone else in again, and she was too, for that matter. It was best this way.

After she paid for her comic, they walked out together. Before he went through the wooden doors to get into the waiting van, he stopped a moment.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, when I said we weren't dating. I hope you know that I wasn't insulting you and saying that you're below me or something, it's just …"

"I know. It's not a big deal. I know what you meant."

She smiled feebly, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Maybe if we'd met earlier, before all this…maybe then…" he muttered.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I'd better go. They're waiting for me."

"Ok. I hope you rest better tonight. Maybe with your book, you'll be able to relax enough to have a good night's sleep."

"Oh, it's not the getting to sleep that bothers me, it's the staying asleep that's the trick...too much going on upstairs."

"I see…you dream about…her?" Alix asked quietly.

He nodded.

"Every night. Even though she left me, I'm never alone. My memories keep me company."

HONK!

The driver of the van popped the horn, grabbing Andrew's attention.

"I'll call you."

And with that he walked out the door.


	12. Storm

**Hurt**

**Storm**

A few moments after Andrew had left, Alix decided to leave the bookstore and explore the surrounding shops, after all, she did have the rest of the day off, and a little cash to spare. First she passed by a glorified junk store that sold gaudy and ridiculously expensive knick knacks, then past a vitamin store that had the stench of musty, rotting dead plants and organic health products wafting from it, and then a dermatologist clinic. Walking down the cracked cement sidewalk towards the small perfume boutique on the corner, she looked up in time to see someone exit the shop. To her dismay, who should it be, but Lisa. Frozen like a fly on sticky fly paper, Alix could only remain in one spot, hoping her own insignificance would be enough to make her go unnoticed. Unfortunately, it didn't. Lisa stopped short, plucked the Jackie O style sunglasses of her delicate nose, and said, "What the hell are you doing here?"

_Oh no, no, no! Not now, _the blue haired woman thought desperately. _This is the last thing I need right now._

"Just doing some shopping," Alix answered nonchalantly. "You?"

Eyeing her suspiciously for a moment, Lisa responded tersely, saying, "I'm shopping too."

"Oh, ok cool. Great minds, eh?"

"Right…" Lisa murmured.

"Well, um, it was nice to see you," Alix replied politely. 

She nodded tightly and moved to walk past the smaller woman, but Lisa stuck out her hand and grabbed the waitress lightly by the elbow. Her brilliant grass green eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, making Alix's stomach plummet to her knees like an elevator that had been cut from its rope. But then Lisa smiled slightly, primly, like a cat that was pleased with itself for coughing up a large hairball on your favorite pair of shoes.

"I heard what you did for Andrew," she said quietly, her lithe voice lowered so that only Alix could hear. "While I'm sure that you had only the best of intentions, and were only trying to help, I really think you should know that it was really stupid of you to waste your money and time like that. He's _so_ not worth it."

_Shut up! _Alix's mind hissed angrily.

"Really, did you now? How did you come by that information?" she replied coolly, disengaging her arm with a swift circular movement.

"My friend's sister is the receptionist at Weeping Willow. She told my friend that you have been coming to see him a lot. Is that true? Are you two together? Why do you go see him? You aren't thinking of taking him for yourself, are you?"

"I wasn't aware that he was an object to be claimed. I thought he was a man with a mind and spirit of his own."

"Cute," Lisa simpered.

"Yeah, he is," Alix retorted with a smirk.

"Hey, don't be a smart aleck. I'm just trying to keep you from making a big mistake. But if you don't want my help, then _fine_, go ahead and waste your time on him."

"Thank you for your concern, but the nature of my relationship, such that it is, with Andrew is really none of your business, especially since you are no longer a part of his life, except for the nightmares and general anguish you cause him. If I ever need your assistance, I shall ask for it. But as it is, I am perfectly capable of handling my own life without any input from a…woman whom I barely know. Now, if you excuse me, I'll be on my way."

Once again, she moved away from Lisa to go inside the perfumery. Alix half expected Lisa to start cussing her out for being so blunt, but instead, the petite brunette simply sighed.

"Listen, I know I probably just sound like an embittered ex, but really, I am telling the truth. Sure, he's charming, what with that big smile and those Bambi brown eyes, but believe me, it's all an act…nothing more than a smoke screen and mirrors. Just when you start to wonder where to pick out your wedding dress, he'll stop calling you. And then he'll stop talking to you when he is home, which is a rare thing in itself because he's always working, saying that he wants to provide the best for you. And then, when you try to help him and make his work load easier, he'll lash out at you, and tell you to stay away. And then he'll stop touching you. It's a natural dwindling progression of abandonment. Don't say I didn't warn you."

She looked at Alix hard, her feline features firm in concentration, giving Alix the distinct feeling that the other woman was trying to bore holes in her with her eyes. However, her body language was loose and relaxed, so it wasn't a confrontation she was after, but it still puzzled the waitress why the person standing in front of her would be so forthcoming with information detailing the demise of her relationship with Andrew. It just wasn't natural, at least in Alix's eyes. She would have _never_ come up to someone on the street and started spilling her personal life to them in an attempt to get them to do something she wanted.

"I'm sure you are telling the truth as you see it," Alix replied icily. "And just so you know, no, we are not together in a romantic sense. We are friends and nothing more. After you I have some very serious doubts that Andrew could ever be in a serious relationship again…or at least not for a long time, no thanks to you."

At these harsh words, even Alix was stunned. She hadn't meant to sound so rude, but the truth is the truth, she reasoned. Sometimes in life, the facts aren't pretty, or nice. Sometimes some things have to be said as curtly and to the point as possible. This was one of those times, she reasoned.

Lisa looked like someone had told her that all the malls in the world were closing in five minutes, and that her credit card would no longer be accepted at any store ever again. Her thin lips hung open in surprise, gaping like a fish against the glass of an aquarium.

"_That_ was uncalled for. You don't know anything about me or what happened between Andrew and me."

"Actually, after all that you just said about him not calling you and whatnot gives me quite some insight into the demise of your relationship with him. So yes, I do know what happened between you two. You just told me in an attempt to get me to not make the same mistakes you did, remember?" Alix countered.

"But…well, yes, I guess I did. That's not the point, though. What I meant was that you didn't have to be so blunt. I'm only trying to help."

"And you _weren't_ being blunt by telling me that I'm wasting my time and money on my friend in his deepest time of need?"

_Hypocrite! How dare she stand there, telling me that I'm too blunt!_

Alix's tone, while low and soft, had an icy, silky malice to it that caused the hair on the back of Lisa's neck to stand up. Almost automatically, she stood up a bit, her body stiffening in response to Alix's almost hissing voice.

"Hey! You have no right to talk to me like that!" she protested.

"And _you_ have no right to ruin a man's life so that he's a sniveling, shriveled, hollow shell of his former self. _You_ have _no_ right to blatantly parade your new boyfriend around at the very same restaurant that you and Andrew used to always go to for your typical Friday night date, knowing full well that he would be outside, watching, crying, hurting, aching for those days when it was him sitting inside, and not Wes, whom we both know was a major step down from what you had. _You_ have _no_ right to try and tell me how I should run my life and with whom I should decide to spend my time and my money with. So _please_, spare me the martyr complex and the woe is me act!" Alix snapped.

"Wait just a minute!" Lisa protested. "Why are you turning on me all of the sudden?"

"No, _you_ wait, and listen to me! Whatever happened between you two is in the past, and I for one would like nothing more than for Andrew to move on and you too, frankly, so that way maybe you won't randomly come up to me and start telling me how to live my life based on the failures of your past relationship with him. I am many things, but one of them is not stupid. I know that he made mistakes in the past in his relationship with you. Now, as to the extent of those mistakes, one can never know, can they? Maybe he didn't pay enough attention to you, or maybe you're just needy and clingy, and he got tired of it. Maybe he was a workaholic and put his career before you, or maybe you are so high maintenance that he had to work all those long hours in order to provide you with the lifestyle to which you had grown so accustomed. I don't know… and frankly, I don't care. I wasn't there, and could therefore not be able to see what truly happened…all I have is your word and his, which are two very different things. Whatever it was that drove you apart must have been something severe, because both of your seem to still not be able to get over each other."

She took a shaky breath before continuing on with the speech that had been twisting inside her like bad oysters, waiting to come back up to the surface.

"All I know is that Andrew is my friend, and I enjoy his company in a platonic way. If sometime in the future he would like to pursue a more than platonic relationship, then I will consider that option. Until that time, I will simply be his friend…I will be the support system for him that he so desperately needs, since everyone else in his life has abandoned him. Believe it or not, not all relationships between a man and a woman have to be romantic. I am perfectly content with being his friend…a _true_ friend. I would _never_, _ever_ intentionally cause him pain, and as a friend who cares deeply for his mental, physical, and overall well being, I will see to it than anyone who harms him, past or present, knows that I won't tolerate such treatment. I _won't_ have him unhappy, not if _I_ can have anything to do about it."

By this time, the golden flecks in Alix's hazel eyes were burning with such intense emotion that it almost looked like her eyes were glowing, like those of a great bald eagle intent upon its prey. Slowly circling around Lisa, Alix moved stealthily, slowly, and deliberately. Despite her usual abhorrence of conflict, she felt that this was one fight she had to stay in, and instead of compromising, she was intent upon winning.

"A-are you threatening me?" Lisa asked, frightened as she backed up, hitting the bumper of her yellow VW Beetle with the back of her legs.

Alix considered her next few words carefully, despite the sneaky little voice that whispered in her ear for her to do some things to the woman in front of her that she would probably later regret. She didn't know where this unusual, almost overpowering desire to smack Lisa across the face and into next week came from, but she ignored this rather base impulse, and took a deep breath, steadying herself and trying to lessen some of her seemingly bottomless supply of anger.

"No, no I'm not threatening you. I don't like violence, and seek to avoid it at all costs, usually. But I am warning you to be careful in what you do and say. He's come a long way in his rehabilitation, and I'd hate to see him go back to his addiction and the hellish nightmare that he called life. Just don't cause him any more pain than you already have. Leave him be. _Please_." 

After these words left her lips, her whole being seemed to soften; her muscles relaxed, and the fire died in her eyes. The desire to fight had gone out of her. She hadn't been that angry and shown it so forcefully in years.

_That was…oddly therapeutic, _she thought wryly.

The two women stood there, facing each other, like men would have after a duel during the days of chivalry. Neither was keen to turn her back on the other, least they be attacked from behind or something. After a few moments, Alix turned away silently and walked inside the store as she had wanted to do for about five minutes now. Sensing that now would be the best time to go, since Alix had said all that she wanted to say and that she wouldn't be persuaded into the desired direction, Lisa slowly grabbed her keys and unlocked her car, put her bags inside. As she stood there beside the open door, she looked over at Alix's retreating head with an expression of pity and yet…understanding.

"Silly girl; you're deluding yourself if you think you can control yourself around him. You've fallen deeper for him than even I did," she muttered under her breath before revving the engine and peeling out of the parking lot.

Alix sat alone on the balcony of her apartment, watching the sun set in a brilliant blaze of gold, pink and purple that seemed to melt across the sky, like a watercolor painting that had run together. The confrontation with Lisa kept replaying over and over again in her mind, causing her to moodily brood over what she had said. As she sat there, drinking her lukewarm hazelnut coffee from the local Starbuck's like coffee shop, her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered flatly.

"Hey," a deep voice echoed in her ear. "C-can we talk?"

_Oh. It's you…I think I've had enough oft you today, _she thought privately, though outwardly she straightened up, as if subconsciously reading herself to put on the act that she was indeed willing to talk.

"Of course we can, but the question is, would we like to?" she said in an attempt at a joke that instead came off as rather catty.

"E-excuse me?" he gulped.

"Never mind. So? What do you want?" she said more coldly than she intended.

He faltered on his end of the call, wondering if she was perhaps angry with him for what he said earlier that morning.

"I'm sorry, if I called at a bad time. I'll go," he said quietly, sounding like he was trying to be brave, but was really wounded instead. 

Alix sighed heavily, rubbing her temple with her right palm.

"No, no, it's ok…I just have a bit of a headache…it's been a rather eventful day, to say the least."

"Yeah…um…about that…"

He took a deep, shaky breath, drawing up his courage to tell her something that had been gnawing at his insides for a while, especially after Lisa had come to visit him that afternoon.

"I…um…I talked with…Lisa today…" he said softly.

_That…that…oh, I told her to stay away from him! If I ever get my hands on her scrawny neck…_

"I'm sorry," Alix said out loud by accident.

He sank down on his bed to sit down. He could tell that this probably wasn't going to go the way he wanted it.

"No, um…it was…nice to see her again…we talked," he said timidly. "She told me that she happened to run into you today, and that you two had a good chat."

_If you mean we were at each others throats when you say 'chat', then yeah, we just had a dandy ole time, _Alix harrumphed mentally. 

"Did she now?" she asked indifferently. "Isn't that _special_."

He grimaced, suddenly realizing that Alix was…almost…jealous, something that he didn't think she was capable of feeling. She was usually so understanding and gentle that he didn't think she had a malicious bone in her body.

"Yeah…she…uh…said that you were really…interesting. I think that she really seems to admire you."

This was just about the last thing in the world Alix had expected him to say. She was expecting him to get all huffy and protective like he always did anytime she made a rather snide comment about Lisa. But his current reaction seemed to be a tentative, almost pleased tone. Lisa had obviously lied to him about the nature of her "discussion" with Alix.

"Really? Why do you think that?" she asked incredulously.

"Uh…because she said that after…after you said some things to her, she felt like…like she should apologize to me for everything that happened…and that…that…" he trailed off, not sure how to continue.

"And?" Alix prodded.

"And that I was lucky to have such a good friend like you who looks out for me," he said quickly, praying that she would take this information as a compliment, like he meant it to be.

Silence.

"H-hello?" he called.

"Yeah, I'm here," she said distantly. "So, it sounds like the two of you got on _smashingly_, then? No problems?"

He shuddered from the coldness in her voice. Yes, she was definitely jealous….and he kind of liked it, in an odd sort of way, as long as he didn't get the brunt of her moodiness. Then again, he thought of all of the times he'd been moody and how patient she'd been with him. He could at least do the same.

"No, everything's fine…I'm ok. She was really calm about everything…"

"Good."

"Yeah…"

"So is there anything else that you wanted to tell me? Or is that it?"

He winced again.

"Um…yeah, I guess that's it…well, and that I wanted to thank you again for meeting me at the bookstore today, and for taking the day off just for that. You really didn't have to, and I just…I honestly can't tell you how much I really appreciate all that you've done for me. I…I'd be lost without you…"

She softened a bit at these words, but still tried to maintain her cool demeanor. Taking her silence as an ok to continue, he went on, saying, "Alix, I know that our…friendship is a bit unusual, at best. For so long it was so one sided on your part…and I just want you to know that in the future, if there's ever a way I can repay you for your kindness and generosity, I'll jump at that chance. Honestly, I mean it when I say that you're the greatest person I've ever met, and that I really can't imagine my life without you in it."

Her heart practically stopped at that last part.

"You really mean that?" she murmured, truly touched.

"Yes…absolutely," he replied sincerely.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem."

A sudden beeping sound tore Alix's attention away from her nails that she was so studiously studying. Her cell phone battery was dying.

"I'm gonna have to go…my battery's dying…"

"Oh. Ok. Do you want me to call you tomorrow?"

"If you want...or I could just come by…"

"Don't you have to work?"

"I can take another day off. I have so many hours overtime that no one will accuse me of slacking off."

"Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok."

Alix then hung up and went to go plug her phone in its charger. Glancing at the clock, she noted that it was now half past ten. She wasn't tired, so she just flipped on the TV to see if anyone interesting was on the late night talk shows. Sadly, there was only some dull and dry author on one show, and a fake blonde, former child star turned coke addict on the other. After only a few moments of having to endure the sheer monotony of watching absolutely nothing interesting on TV, she turned it off with a bored flick of theremote. She got up again, and went over to the DVD rack that stood next to the TV, searching for something, anything, to entertain her. But nothing looked interesting enough to watch; she'd seen every movie in her collection at least a dozen times a piece, so the magic of most of the films had worn off.

An hour passed by, with Alix becoming more and more fidgety. It was like every nerve in her body was alive, so if she sat down, she immediately stood up again, and paced around the room. Finally, when she couldn't take it any more, she decided to go for a drive. 

_Perhaps a chance in scenery will do me good._

She grabbed her keys, purse, and newly charged phone, and headed out the door, only to return seconds later to grab the brown and gold striped hoodie that she kept by the door. There was just enough chill in the air to use it. After putting it on, she locked the door to her apartment, and set off down the hall, towards the stairwell. Upon reaching the parking lot, she glanced around cautiously to make sure that she was alone, and walked to her car, glancing over her shoulder and all around for any suspicious movement. Once she reached the vehicle, she looked under it to make sure no one was lying in wait for her, and upon seeing nothing but pavement, she got in, and immediately locked the doors.

As she drove along aimlessly, she took a left turn. And then a right. Another left turn, and then several blocks later, she took two more right turns, to find herself turning into the parking lot of Weeping Willow. She seemed to be on autopilot, not really thinking, just moving. The parking lot was deserted, except for the small smattering of cars for the security guards, and the doctor who was on call for the night shift. Alix parked next to a small, white car, and alighted, but not before she grabbed the Swiss Army knife from the glove box.

_This is madness, _a part of her warned.

But she kept going, not heeding the warning voice. She purposely walked in a wide circle around the fringe of willow trees that lined the outer lying buildings.

_If I remember correctly, it should be the second one from the end…_

She came upon a breaker box that was attached to the second tree from the end on the row that she was walking down. There was a padlock attached to it, but she just simply pulled out the nail file from the Swiss Army knife, and after a few jiggles, the lock was free.

_Now, where is that switch? Hmm…._

She flicked on the small pen light that was attached to her keys, and read down each row, searching for the right lever to flip.

_Ah ha! Gotcha!_

Flipping the little white switch, she then closed the metal door, and hung the lock back on its hook, though she didn't lock it.

_And now, it should be just right behind that shrub…_

She crept silently forward, like a squirrel about to pounce on an unsuspecting acorn. Once she was near enough to see in the window, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was still up, reading his book.

RAT-A-TAP-TAP!

She rapped four times sharply on the glass. Andrew's head snapped up, revealing that he was wearing large, square, black framed glasses. The look of sheer surprise on his face was enough to make her snicker loudly, but she quickly stifled it, least she give herself away to anyone else but him.

"What are you doing here?" he mouthed to her.

She shrugged, and pointed to the window.

"Can you open it from your side? Or is it still sealed?"

He got up and went to examine the window.

"It's sealed."

_That's what I thought._

So she simply flicked open the Swiss Army Knife again, and started cutting away meticulously at the paint, making such a fine line of incisions that it would be impossible to see that anything was amiss, unless one was specifically looking intently at that particular place on the window. In a moment, she'd freed the window, and opened it. Alix handed Andrew her purse, and then vaulted inside, landing with a soft thump on the tile floor. She then shut the window quietly, and turned back around, sticking out her hand for her purse. He gave it back to her, eyes full of questions. Even in the dim light, Alix was amazed at how the simple grey t shirt he was wearing clung in all the right places to his rapidly expanding muscles. 

_Adonis. _

"Umm…" he began. "Why…"

She smiled softly, almost coquettishly.

"I couldn't wait until tomorrow."

And then she grabbed him tightly by the shoulders, and pressed her lips up to his. 


	13. You're All I Have

**Hurt**

**You're All I Have **

He inhaled sharply, clearly surprised by Alix's actions. She was now running her fingers down his long, swimmer's torso, causing sparks of excitement and pleasure to course through his veins. He sighed into her mouth, and pulled her closer, ruffling her hair with his large hands. She pushed him gently, making him back up into the wall, where he bumped into it with a dull thud. Even though she was about eight or nine inches shorter than he was, she practically climbed up him, like a tree, to get closer to his mouth, which she was now furiously kissing, as though there was no tomorrow.

"_Alix_…why…" he hissed into her ear as she pulled his head aside to nip at his neck.

"Because I can…and you won't stop me," she purred at him before kissing him again, this time, much slower, torturing him by deliberately holding back.

As they worked their way slowly towards the extra long twin sized bed, Andrew tripped over his flip flops that he'd carelessly tossed away only moments previously. To steady himself, he wildly groped for the bed frame, but instead he hit the TV and with an almighty crash, it fell to the floor, sending sparks everywhere. Alix screeched in surprise, and leapt onto the bed, where she too lost her balance and toppled to the floor. Both she and Andrew were cursing in violent whispers, not that it did any good, because footsteps could be heard coming down the hall, growing louder as they approached the room.

"Hide! In the bathroom!" the raven haired man instructed, pointing to the open door.

Alix fled to the bathroom, making sure to grab her purse so as not to leave any evidence. Andrew cast around desperately in his mind for an excuse, but before he could come up with a solid story, there was a sharp knock on his door. He hurriedly leapt to his feet and flung his glasses onto the night stand.

"H-hello?" he called shakily before opening the door.

"Are you alright? I heard a crashing sound come from this room," said a voice through the thin pressed wood door.

It was the night doctor who was on duty.

"I um…accidentally tripped over my shoes and fell into the TV and knocked it over."

_So much for coming up with a story _Andrew thought miserably to himself.

There was a slight pause.

"Let me in, please."

Pulling the door open, Andrew forced a sheepish smile that he hoped would be convincing enough for the doctor to not snoop around any longer than necessary. A tall, thin, horse faced man stood in the door frame, his fake tan seeming to look even more preposterous in contrast with Andrew's natural alabaster complexion. The doctor strode swiftly into the room to inspect the TV that was still smoking, and the electrical socket that occasionally belched sparks. He then took out a pen and a notepad from the inside of his long white lab coat, and began to scribble violently on it, glancing over at the wreckage every so often and then returning his gaze to his notes. Andrew stood helplessly aside, scratching his head awkwardly. After the doctor had completed his report, he turned to his patient.

"How many hours of sleep a night have you been getting?"

"Um…I don't know…three…four hours maybe? Why?"

"I need to check your medical records, but if I remember correctly, you have no history of insomnia, correct?"

"Well, yeah, but…you know, now that I'm sober I still lie awake at night thinking, and my mind's so busy that I can't stay asleep for very long without nightmares."

"I see….have you told your therapist this?"

"Yes… she recommended that I read before I go to bed, and try and force my subconscious to dwell on the reading."

"Is that what you were doing before you had this accident?"

Andrew gulped.

"Yeah…you could say that…"

"Why did you get up?"

"I…um…heard a noise outside and I went to look out the window."

"Did you see anything?"

_Nothing except my best friend waiting outside for me like she was Romeo…or…something…_

"No."

"And then you tripped over your shoes and fell into the TV, is that correct?"

Andrew gulped again.

"Yes."

"I see."

The physician looked at his patient sharply, in an almost calculating way, but then, seeming satisfied, turned to leave.

"The expense of the TV will be added to your account, and I'll have a maintenance team come and take care of the mess in the morning. Do you think you can be more careful and avoid any more accidents until then? Or do you want to transfer to an empty room until then?"

"I..um…I'll be fine here," Andrew answered quickly, thinking of Alix, who was still hiding in the bathroom.

"Very well then."

As the night doctor turned to leave, he spotted the book lying on the night stand.

"_Atlas Shrugged_, huh? Very good choice," he said approvingly.

"Uh…thanks…"

With a small nod and a smile, the blonde doctor left. Only after his footsteps had completely died away did Andrew venture to the bathroom, where he found Alix curled up against the wall between the toilet and the shower. She glanced up at him, standing there, bathed in the shallow florescent light of the single light bulb that hung in the middle of the tiny room.

"He's gone now."

Alix said nothing, but simply stood up and swung her purse on her shoulder. She didn't even look up at him as she moved to walk past him and out into the larger room. For the past ten minutes she'd practically been holding her breath, all the while berating herself for the sheer stupidity she'd displayed by coming to him, and especially by kissing him. Sure, she'd wanted to since the moment she laid eyes on him, and even in his miserable, scruffy, emaciated self, she'd still wanted him, still found him irresistible. And now, just when they had reached a somewhat stable situation, she'd just turned off her brain and acted on those impulses she'd so long repressed.

_He hates me. He's got to. I'd hate me if I were him, _she cried miserably, though no actual tears fell. _God, if he only knew…what he does to me…I'm a freaking ball of emotion and impulse._

But he didn't move aside. Instead, he caught her gently around the shoulders, forcing her to stop.

"Look at me."

She shook her head from side to side, defeatedly.

"No," she said in a whisper cracked with emotion. "I can't. I'm so sorry. I should never have come."

"I'm not angry with you. Look at me."

He pulled her chin up with his index finger. Still, her eyes were downcast, though she kept blinking, trying to not look at him, and to fight off the impending tears at the same time.

"You should be mad...I..I...don't know why I had to come here, especially after you specifically stated that you'd never want me."

_I'm not going to cry, not gonna do it, not gonna do it ever again…_

"You can cry, you know. It's not a sign of weakness," he murmured soothingly.

"For me it is. It always has been, and always will be."

"Alix…"

He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, just enough cause her breath to hitch in her throat and her heart to quicken instantly into an irregular tattoo. Then he pulled her into a tight hug, one arm around her small waist and the other wrapped around her head, where he ran his long fingers through her hair, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I didn't say that I didn't want you…I just don't think now is a good time for us…give me some more time. Believe me, I know what it's like to want someone so badly that all you can do is think about them, and sometimes you do things that you wouldn't normally do."

She sighed and nodded into his chest.

"I know."

He slowly released her, but still kept his hands on her shoulders and this time, she did look up at him, rather timidly, which he found to be endlessly endearing and sensual at the same time.

"Did you come because of Lisa?" he inquired shrewdly.

She gulped.

"Um…yeah. I…I was so afraid that if you saw her again, you'd go back to your old habits, or you'd forget about me. Or both. And I couldn't…won't …have that happen. I'm selfish, Andrew, and jealous too. I don't want to lose you. I don't have any friends, my family is estranged from me, and I drown myself in my work, just so my mind won't dwell on how lonely I am. But when I'm with you, I…I feel safe. I feel like I don't have to fit into anyone's expectations, and that I don't have to be numb…in fact, you make it impossible for me to not feel…to be...human, weak, flawed, impulsive, irrational, but alive. You're all I have."

He hadn't expected such brutal honesty; he thought she would deny being jealous at the very least, or maybe change the subject.

"Alix…I…I don't know what to say…you…you really feel safe around me?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah…like…it's like…you make it easy to be me. And it scares me and makes everything feel so free at the same time."

Now he really didn't know what to say, so he just shuffled around nervously. It was one thing to tell her something similar, but to hear it about himself, after months of telling himself that he was worthless and didn't deserve anyone's love, well, he couldn't quite know how to process such devotion.

"I…I should probably go now. It's after two in the morning, and you need to sleep…and I should probably go into work, since I don't think it would be a good idea if we saw each other again until…until…" she trailed off.

"No…"he said thoughtfully. "No, please, don't go. Just…just stay with me. You don't have to talk, you can just be here."

"I don't know… I still think it would be a good idea for me to go…for everyone's sake. Tonight was awkward enough, and I don't….I mean, you need time, and I've already forced myself on you, quite literally."

At this, much to her surprise, he snickered a bit.

"Yeah, you kinda did, didn't you?"

She blushed furiously and started stammering a string of apologies, only to be cut off when he said, "Actually, I was kinda flattered. I mean, I am a man, after all, and when a beautiful woman willingly throws herself at me, it does do wonders for my ego…especially when I'm not in my best shape."

If there was another color redder than tomato red, that's what Alix's cheeks were inflamed with.

"Er…thanks, I think?" she offered lamely. "And what do you mean you're not in your best shape? I mean…I think you're…well, buff…"

_Oh, you're such an idiot_…she thought.

"Well, I mean, my chest…it's not as…well, it's complicated. You see, there are these guys in my therapy group, and they're always calling me skinny and pencil neck. It sounds stupid, I know, but it…I feel like I 

should work out more…get a wider chest. But this is about as good as I'm gonna get on my own, without a trainer or steroids."

There was a slight pause, until Alix replied disbelievingly, "That has to be the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard in my life. Personally, I can't stand the 'roid rage look, and I think you wonderful just the way you are. Screw the haters, what do they know, anyway? Besides, your strength doesn't come from the size of your muscles, it's your heart, as corny and cliché as it sounds, that is your true strength."

He considered this for a moment, but in the end, he nodded in agreement.

"I suppose you're right. Still…you don't think maybe I should work out a bit more?"

He eyed her appraisingly, gauging her reaction.

"Pfft. No! No you're fine just the way you are. As long as you don't grow a Grizzly Adams beard or shave your head, I think I'll be fine. You didn't repulse me when you were so deathly skinny and grimy, so I'm really good to go. I've always accepted you as you are, no questions asked."

"Yeah, you have, haven't you?"

"And I always will."

He shook his head in amazement.

_She has no idea how amazing she is…_he mused._ None. If I weren't in here, and wasn't afraid of screwing up again, I'd sweep her up and never let her go. Why no other guy has done this by now, I'll never know. Probably because we're idiots most of the time._

He yawned loudly, and glanced at the clock. It was almost two in the morning.

"You need to sleep," she admonished. "I've kept you up too long."

"Nah," he waved his hand. "I'm just gonna wake up anyway. What's the point?"

"You need your rest. Here, at least lie down, and I'll…I'll tell you a story."

He quirked his eyebrows in surprise.

"You're gonna tell me a bed time story?"

"Well…yeah., I am."

His handsome face broke out into a large grin.

"I love a good story."

He settled in bed, and she sat attentively on the side, and turned off the light, but not before she pulled off his glasses and set them aside.

"There once was a boy…A very strange enchanted boy.  
They say he wandered very far, very far  
Over land and sea,  
A little shy and sad of eye  
But very wise was he.

And then one day,  


One magic day, he passed my way.  
And while we spoke of many things,  
Fools and kings,  
This he said to me,  
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn  
Is just to love and be loved in return."

"You're quoting David Bowie to me?" Andrew asked in the darkness incredulously.

"Sshh! Sometimes, the best stories start with a song."

"Ok, I'm listening."

She continued to spin a tale of intrigue, love, betrayal, and friendship, all set up in the fantastic landscape of some far away kingdom of long ago. And when she finished, the only sound that reached her ears was the gentle snores from the man in front of her. A cloud moved away from the moon, illuminating his wonderfully angular face. Alix sighed deeply, and kissed him so lightly on his forehead that he didn't even flinch.

"Sleep well, sweet prince."


	14. Ever The Same

Chapter Fourteen

**Hurt**

**Ever the Same**

Alix woke up with a start to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. It was in the early morning hours, in the weak, grayish light of the rising sun, and the birds were just starting to twitter. Sitting up, she rubbed the crick in her neck from where she'd been sleeping against Andrew's chest, having fallen asleep to the steady sound of his heart beating. He looked so peaceful and gentle, laying there, still in the heavy stages of sleep, his long, silky eyelashes fluttering gently over his sharp cheeks, and his shapely lips slightly parted as he breathed in and out, in a constant, slow rise and fall of his chest. She hesitated to move any more, for he had pinned down her right arm with his, and had her fingers intertwined with his. But she had to go, and soon, if she wanted to leave undetected and set the outside lights back on before anyone noticed they'd been off for most of the night.

"Andrew," she whispered quietly, into his ear. "I have to go."

He whimpered grumpily into his pillow, and then cracked one eye open just barely wide enough to groggily look at her, before burrowing back into the bed, pulling her down towards him at the same time.

"No," came his muffled response.

"Andrew…" she admonished with a hidden smile. "Come on now…you know I've got to go. What if they find me?"

He opened one eye again, only this time a little wider. He seemed to be considering what she said for a while, and then in an instant blur of motion, he was sitting up, yawning and rubbing his eyes with his palm of one hand, while still holding onto her with the other. He smacked his lips together, as though he'd just tasted the best meal of his life, and then drowsily stood up and grinned down at her.

"So you're just gonna love me and leave me, huh? Just a wham, bam, thank you sir, and don't call me, I'll call you kind of thing, is it?"

Alix looked mortified, to say the least.

"I would never! How, you…we! No!" she spluttered incoherently.

"I feel so comforted now, what with that…eloquent response."

She just started at him, not even knowing where to begin. This was a whole new side of him that she'd never seen before…a playful, flirtatious, and incredibly sexy side. And she liked it. A lot.

"I'll call you later, ok?" she finally settled for as a response.

"I'll look forward to it," he answered with a wry smile.

"Right."

She nodded in agreement, allowing herself a slight girlish giggle, and pulled her hand away to walk over to the window with Andrew right behind her, and he stepped in front to open it for her, stretching out a hand to hold her purse as she clambered out. As he handed it to her through the window, she glanced around nervously to make sure that none of the groundskeepers were around, and then leaned up to quickly hug him goodbye, but the embrace lasted much longer than she intended, and in the distance, the sound of a lawn mower revving up echoed across the grounds. With a quick squeeze of his biceps, Alix slipped away, waving, and then turning to run stealthily towards the tree line. Andrew slammed the window down, just in time as a large, faded mustard yellow riding lawn mower rounded the corner. Alix stood frozen behind the tree she was pressed against; her eyes squeezed shut and her lips moving in a rapid prayer to not be discovered. As the mower passed out of view, she slinked around to the control box and flicked the appropriate switched back into place, and jimmied the lock shut. Taking care to make sure she stayed out of sight, she navigated her way through the trees until she reached the deserted parking lot.

Andrew watched her go with a sad sort of bemusement in his striking brown eyes, a mixture of worry, regret, anticipation and hesitation.

_Such a strange girl,_ he mused.

He went to go get dressed for the day, taking care not to step into the shards of the broken TV that he was still embarrassed to think he'd knocked over. It'd had been a long time since he'd received any kind of physical affection, but still, in his mind, his actions were hopelessly juvenile and highly embarrassing.

_You wouldn't have thought I was a teenager on prom night_, he thought self-consciously, but shrugged it off, trying not to concentrate on his faults and the negative things that happened, but the positive.

He thought back to when she had sat next to him as he tried to go to sleep, and how her hands danced in front of her as she spoke, and how her low, lithe voice would sometimes stumble over words that never would have given him problems, and how she'd get frustrated with herself and shake her head, make a spluttering sound before saying the word again, this time slowly, to make sure she was pronouncing it correctly. He couldn't decide if he thought this was endearing, or slightly annoying, but if that was the worst of her faults, then he had nothing to worry about, and was just being nitpicky, but at the same time it was comforting in a strange sort of way to know that she might have faults. He'd thought Lisa didn't have any, and look where that had gotten him. Perhaps it was best that he didn't think Alix was perfect, but instead understood that she had flaws, and even in some ways looked for them, while accepting them at the same time.

Dressing quickly, he pulled together the simple ivory colored sheets on his bed when he noticed something peeking out from under the bed. Pulling Alix's chair away from the bed, Andrew stooped down to find her little brown and gold striped sweater wadded up in a ball, from where she had obviously discarded it sometime earlier in the wee hours of the morning. He smiled and brought it up to inhale a mixture of her sweet perfume, flowery shampoo, and her own little womanly scent.

_I'll just keep it until I see her again._

So he folded it up and placed under his pillow, where it would be out of sight, but still close by.

_Rat-a-tap!_

The maintenance people had arrived to clean up the TV mess, followed by Christiana. She smiled cheerily at him.

"I see someone got a little too into the _Price is Right,_" she said with a good natured and teasing laugh.

He snorted and grinned, replying, "Yeah, something like that. Listen, I'm so sorry for causing such a commotion, and I didn't mean to, really."

"Not to worry, we've had worse things happen. Listen…would you mind coming to my office for a moment? I need to talk with you about something."

Andrew gulped, but put on a brave face and nodded. His mind raced to a thousand reasons as to why the director of the rehabilitation center would want to talk with him privately in her office. They followed the maze-like paths of the atrium garden to her office, where she opened the door and motioned for him to sit down.

"I've been reviewing your files, lately, since I've been getting wonderful notes about how well you're doing. I'm so encouraged about how far you've progressed; you should be proud of your success. In fact, that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. I know you used to be in advertising before you joined us, and I was wondering if you would be willing to stay on with the Center and serve as head of our marketing department when you finish your program, because sadly Jamie Dylan, who was head of marketing, resigned recently. Apparently he wants to go back to college and get his masters in Victorian literature."

Andrew breathed in a short gasp of relief.

_Thank God she didn't ask me about Alix._

"Uh…wow. That's really generous. I…I'm gonna have to think about it for a while," he answered truthfully.

"Well, take your time, honey. I know this is a big decision, and you will probably need to talk it over with…certain individuals with experience in running a business such as this."

She gave him a meaningful smile.

_Crap. She knows._

Andrew tried to twist his face into a mask of non-emotion, but a twitch of his mouth and a quick flash in eyes gave him away.

"Right…" he said finally.

Christiana laughed uproariously.

"If you could only see your face now!" she guffawed. "You look like the kid with a milk moustache and black teeth who denies to his mom that he ate the last of the Oreos."

But then she became more serious almost instantly.

"I want you to know that Alix is a wonderful girl…but she's very stubborn, which I'm sure you know, but she's always put on a tough face to hide how she really feels. Even in all the years we knew each other, I still felt like she would always be a bit of a stranger to me. But you won't find someone more fiercely loyal than her, which, as I'm sure you might have figured out, can be a bittersweet gift. Just be aware of that."

"I know," he said quietly. "But I owe her my life."

Christiana nodded after a moment.

"What…what was she like before…before she…"

"Before she had a nervous breakdown?"

"Yeah."

Christiana sat back in her high backed leather seat, and spun around to the bookshelf behind her to retrieve a photograph incased in a large, ornately decorated silver frame, and handed to him. He immediately recognized the Christiana by her flaming red hair, and then his eyes traveled to the woman standing next to her. If it hadn't been for the sharp hazel eyes, he wouldn't have recognized Alix. Gone were her customary dark denim jeans and white sneakers, and replaced by a sleek plum-colored evening gown, with a slit that went up to her mid thigh, and high black dress pumps. And the blue was missing from her hair, which was twisted up atop her head in a glossy bun. But most different of all was the slight, almost laughing smile that lit up her oval face. Alix had her arm draped around Christiana, in a friendly hug.

"Wow," Andrew said softly.

"Quite a difference, wouldn't you say?" Christiana asked rhetorically. "I haven't seen her smile like that in a long time. But a few days ago I happened to run into her as she was leaving after visiting you. She didn't see me, because she was leaving in a hurry, but for the first time in a long time I saw a hint of that old smile. She never did like pictures because for some strange reason she always thought they never looked like her, which is true in many ways."

She took the photograph back from him, and returned it to its proper place. As she turned back around to face her patient, she said, "I just thought you might want to know."

"Thanks."

"No problem, dear."

* * *

Alix wiped the back of her hand across her sweaty brow as she navigated her way through the overheated and crowded kitchen, making her way to the back door to leave. It had been a long day of demanding customers, and of course Jack had come in at his customary time, and was utterly delighted to see that Alix was back at work.

"I thought you'd left me for another man," he has said in mock reproach to her when she came to take his order.

"Aw, come on now Jack, you know you're the only man in my life," she had replied in an equally satirical tone.

"Right, then why have you got an extra twist in your hips, then, missy?"

Alix grinned sheepishly, but didn't say anything else to the kindly old man. She'd never tell him, but he seemed very much like one of those contrived characters in a cheesy romantic comedy, which was probably her least favorite genre of movie. Still, he was a good man.

* * *

_Not much farther, thank God,_ she rejoiced when she reached her beloved vehicle.

With a small beep, the doors unlocked, and she hopped inside, and turned on the radio, to hear a song she'd always loved, but never really listened to the lyrics. But now they took on a whole new and all too appropriate meaning, given the ever changing relationship she shared with Andrew.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down_

She thought back to when she had held him, bleeding, wounded, bruised and battered in her arms after that disastrous fight at the restaurant.

_Call on me  
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me  
Forever it's you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

She thought of when he'd first called her, and how often they'd talk through the night, just to ease his mind to get a few precious hours of sleep. She'd always been guarded with people, and still was with him, but not quite to the degree she was with others. As much as she adored him, there were just some fundamental elements of her personality that not even he could change.

_You may need me there  
To carry all your weight  
But you're no burden I assure_

She thought of when he'd collapsed in the hospital, and how she and Sherry, the nurse, had practically hauled him back to the bed to rush him off to X-rays to see if he'd broken his hand. It was at that moment Alix had realized how truly impressive his size was, and then her mind traveled to how he'd told her that some of the other guys at the center called him skinny, which was utterly ridiculous.

_You tide me over  
With a warmth I'll not forget  
But I can only  
give you love_

She remembered how comfortable she was when she woke up that morning that was almost three months ago, and how she felt like a kitten curled up in a basket of warm blankets. And as much as she claimed to be a cynic, and showed some strong inclinations to have some bitter qualities towards men, as was to be expected, given her past, she still was a romantic deep at heart. But she'd still never say that. At least not if anyone was around.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang. It was Andrew.

_Call on me_

"Hey," she answered.

_I'll be there for you_

"Hey. I, um, have some news to tell you. I, um, got that job Christiana was offering me…but on one condition…"

_And you'll be there for me_

"What condition is that?" Alix asked as she waited at the stop light to turn into the parking lot of her apartment.

"I told her I wouldn't take the position as head of marketing unless you were allowed to come back as head of project development."

Alix didn't quite know what to say. On one hand, she didn't know if she could handle the pressure of working in a semi-corporate environment. But at the same time, she wanted a challenge again, wanted to compete, and waiting tables wasn't cutting it anymore, not that it ever had, really.

"Alix?" he questioned concernedly.

"I'll do it."

_Forever it's you_

She could practically hear his smile through the phone.

_Forever in me  
Ever the same_

"Great!"

She laughed, and then got out of the car, to go up to her apartment, still chatting with him, when she heard her name shouted across the parking lot. She looked up, to see him standing next to the entrance into the building.

_Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

_Ever the same_


	15. Someday Sunny Skies

**Hurt**

**Someday, Sunny Skies**

The rain pitter patted gently against the roof of the new, sleek, midnight blue SUV, dribbling down the windshield, where it was wiped unceremoniously to the sides by the windshield wipers. Alix shook her head in an attempt to keep herself awake as she waited for the light to turn. Her mind was filled with all of the meetings, emails, conference calls, and appointments that she'd had that day. Sometimes when things were insanely hectic and stressful, like today, deep down in the most inner secret parts of her heart, she wished she'd stayed on at the _Coliseum Café_.

The light turned green, and she hit the gas pedal, and moved forward, into the intersection, and eventually merged onto the highway, her headlights cutting through the inky blackness like two narrow flashlight beams.

_It's funny, _Andrew thought as he rubbed his aching temples, _how some habits never die._

* * *

He was once again sitting in front of his computer, the only source of light in the room, staring at a particularly intricate Photoship manipulation. Glancing at the small white numbers in the right hand side of the screen, he saw that it was only six minutes after eleven at night, but it felt so much later. Yawning again, he blinked lazily at the monitor, but it was no use. He couldn't do anything else with so many cobwebs in his brain. So, he saved his work, and stalked off into the kitchen.

The house was eerily quiet now that he was the only inhabitant in it; the only sounds that reached his ears were the soft thumps of raindrops hitting the window panes, and the dull, monotonous, continuous hum of the lights and the TV, though it was not on at the moment. Andrew shivered slightly. He hated being alone, although he never said anything; he didn't want to worry Alix, she had enough to contend with without his silly fears pressing down on her mind. It had been two years since he was released from rehab, had taken the job as head of marketing for Weeping Willow, and he thought that by now he'd have mastered the urge to run screaming from isolation and back into fantasy land. Most of the time, he did, but now…it'd been two weeks since she'd left. Two miserable weeks that seemed to drag on to infinity, torturing him maliciously with their slow-as-molasses pace. His watch mocked him, belittled him, and seemed to only exist to make him wish he had powers he did not posses…powers to master that fickle thing, time.

Pacing back and forth across the grey and blue checked tile, he fingered his aqua colored plastic glass of ice water nervously. He was tired, but he didn't want to go to bed, for it would only be cold and silent, and remind him of who was missing from the other side of it. Sipping on the water, he went to look outside, pulling back the cream colored lace curtains from the window to gaze out into inky blackness. The moon was blurred and partially hidden behind ominously creeping clouds that seemed to be slowly strangling the pale pearl in the sky, slowly sucking away its weak light. He sipped again, and closed the curtains. Alix would have been fascinated by the almost morbidly dark sky; had she been there, she would have been standing at the window, staring outside, transfixed for hours during the storm. He moved away from the window, and retreated back to the harsh glow of his computer.

* * *

She smiled quietly, as she glanced up at the sky. It was dark, moody, cold, and gloriously beautiful. But then she thought of Andrew, and wondered for a moment if he was looking at the same sky. But then she knew he probably wasn't. He was probably holed up in his room, staring once again at his computer. He didn't care for nights like tonight; he much preferred the fresh starkness of a chilly, cloudless, azure sky with scarlet and gold colored leaves that trickled down to the grounds as their trees let go of them. Fall and winter, that's what the two of them were; to different people, two different seasons, two different entities that followed the other, one leading to the next, and incomplete without that the other would be there, following the other steadily, in a completely predictable fashion.

_Two years, _she thought. _Has it been that long?_

It is difficult to tell when Alix and Andrew 'officially' became an item, because for all the talk of taking things slow and giving each other the time to heal and assess life; to them it would seem that there had never really been a time before each other. It just…always was. Alix…and Andrew. Together, they were an inseparable force of nature that collided and fused to form one, cohesive but distinctive whole. And so, as she made her way home through the drizzle and fog, she couldn't help but become antsier. She was coming home, earlier than she had originally planned. Her 'spidey sense' had tingled, telling her to get into the car and drive, drive all night if she must, and return.

* * *

The fog was coming in denser now; its icy grey talons seemed to be scratching at the back of his mind, whispering things to him that he desperately didn't want to hear. Andrew just turned up his music a bit louder, and furrowed his dark brows farther in concentration. He was almost finished. Just a few more strokes of the feathering tool, and maybe a filter or two, and he'd be done.

_Only a bit farther,_ he told himself.

Surreptitiously, he glanced at his silent cell phone. Even though he knew it would only show the empty display screen, he flipped it open anyway, hoping that maybe he was wrong, and he'd see a missed call or maybe a text message from her. Only her sharp green and gold eyes stared back at him from the picture he'd taken about a month earlier. Snorting resentfully, he snapped the phone shut with a flick of his wrist, and went back to glowering at the screen.

* * *

Eyes drooping, Alix finally reached the outskirts of the suburb, where she was greeted by the two sure signs of civilization: Starbucks and Wal-Mart. Fortunately for her, this Starbucks was a 24-hour one, and so she greedily pulled into the drive through, and ordered a caramel latte with extra espresso, which some might say was all together pointless, given the fact that she was no more than ten minutes away from her destination. Nevertheless, she snatched up her drink from the handsome young man who answered the window and, cringingly she realized, reminded her very much of a boy she'd had a massive crush on in high school; he looked almost identical, right down to his curly brown hair, wide dimpled smile and bright blue eyes. Alix gave him a curt 'thank you' and peeled out of the parking lot and back onto the street.

The moment the engine died, she flicked the lights off and threw the door open, coffee in one hand, purse, keys, door opener, and discarded sunglasses in the other. _Click, click, click_, went her black leather boots across the slick pavement as she walked up to the front door, where she juggled all of her things, and eventually managed to unlock said door without spilling or dropping anything, which was a feat in of itself. The lights were all off, even in the computer room, which wasn't completely unusual, given the fact that Andrew seemed to have developed some of her bat-like tendencies, and preferred the dark and the dead of night to do his work. She went to check the computer room, but found it empty; the flat screen was darkened, save for the bright blue light that flashed on its side to indicate that the computer was in hibernation mode.

_That means he'd left at least fifteen minutes ago, _she mused. _I bet he's asleep._

Not wanting to wake him from his still finicky sleep, she tiptoed back outside, where it was now starting to snow, and pulled her suitcase, computer case, and cosmetic bag and attempted to haul them all back inside at the same time. However, the wheels of her suitcase caught on the small crack between the street and the sidewalk, and it flopped over lazily.

_Whatever_, Alix grumped, and she left it there, and dragged the rest of her belongings inside, and then returned for the bothersome luggage.

Upon entering the kitchen, she slumped heavily into the nearest bar stool and just sat there, staring tiredly into space. Her long, delicate fingers played with the sleeve of her coffee, slowly pulling apart the cardboard along its glued seam until it fell away. She took a large gulp of the sweet, hot liquid, and then stuffed the disassembled sleeve into it's now empty stomach, and tossed it expertly into the gaping mouth of the garbage can. She didn't really know why, but she just didn't feel like moving…she was so very tired after driving twelve hours, and would welcome sleep, but at the same time, she didn't want to get up and walk the few feet into the bedroom. With one sparkly diamond ring bedecked hand, she ruffled her hair, and then sighing, decided to get up. She'd unpack later.

* * *

The warm water caressed his face as he let it wash over him, spewing merrily from the silver shower head as he just sat there, slumped against the tile, his ebony hair plastered against his scalp and tiny little droplets of water clinging to his long eyelashes like liquid diamonds. He was so very lonely, and so very tired. But he didn't get up, instead, he just continued to sit there, still fully dressed save for his shoes, and just brood. And then….

"Andrew?" came a soft, inquiring voice.

_It's not real. It can't be her. It's too soon. She said three days from now…_he thought defiantly, in a valiant effort to not give into his fantasies.

"What on earth are you doing?"

The voice was louder now, sounding like it was coming closer to him. A second later, he heard the glass shower door open, and despite himself, he looked up. There she was, standing there, like some black clad avenger come in the night to rescue him. She was looking at him incredulously, wondering why he was sitting in the slower, with all his clothes.

"Hey," he said in a poor attempt at sounding normal. "You're home early."

He shifted slightly, folding his arms up towards his chest. Alix's eyes automatically darted to the insides of his elbows, looking for the telltale angry red gouges. But his skin was milky white and smooth, save for a few, small, peach colored scars that would never go away. Following her gaze, he looked down at his own arms.

"See? All clean," he murmured, like a little boy who was showing his mother that he did indeed wash behind his ears like she told him.

"I know," she replied slowly, almost warily.

This clearly wasn't what she had expected to come home to find. She had thought that she would walk into the bedroom to see him sprawled out on the mattress; his long limbs tangled up awkwardly in the paisley lavender sheets, or maybe slumped up against his computer keyboard, mouth open and drooling slightly. So, why, pray tell, was he in here? Was he backsliding?

_Surely not, _she thought desperately.

She looked up at the water, and then down at him for a moment, and then over to the fluffy, canary yellow towels that were completely untouched as they hung pristinely on their rods. She grabbed the largest one, and then bent down to take off her shoes, and stepped inside, and turned off the water. Alix knelt down next to him, and wrapped part of the towel around his broad shoulders, and the other part around herself. She could feel the water soaking through her knees and bottom of her dress pants, but she ignored it. Neither one said anything for a while, but then he started to shiver ever-so-slightly, so she pulled her part of the towel off and tucked it in around him.

"Are you cold?" she asked in more of a rhetorical statement than an inquiry.

"Yeah, kinda."

She continued to attempt to dry him off, but when her hands traveled down his muscular arms towards his hands, in a flash, he captured her in a tight hug that almost knocked the wind out of her.

"God, I missed you," he whispered fiercely into her ear.

"I know," was all that she could squeak out in response.

He didn't say anything else, but just continued to clamp onto her in a vise-like grip, until her knees started to burn with pain. She attempted to shift her weight, but only managed to accidentally dig her elbow into his ribs.

"Sorry!"

But he let go and almost stood up to leave, but a small, soft hand on his shoulder kept him in place. Slowly, his eyes traveled up her face to meet hers, and he saw the worry and kindness hidden in them behind their wise exterior. With one hand, she grasped his fingers, intertwining them with hers, and the other traced very light patterns across his sharp cheekbones, and down his fine, straight Roman nose, and over those wonderfully full and parted lips. He hitched his breath slightly, but continued to stare back into those hawk-like eyes.

"Where does it hurt?" she purred tenderly. "Here?"

She pulled back his arm to point at the crevice on the inside of his elbow, and raised it up to her lips to lightly kiss it. She did the same thing to the other arm, and then moved to his temple, letting her lips dance down his face, ghost across his eyelids, and then finally wind her way down to his mouth. He gasped quietly, but returned the kiss fiercely, pulling her back into that almost bone crunching embraced. As they both finally had to pull away to breath, she lowered her head into the curve of his neck, and lightly kissed his ear.

"See? Now you don't have to hurt anymore."

* * *

The dull grey morning dawned late the next day, to find Alix and Andrew curled up in the window seat in the kitchen, watching as the sun desperately attempted to poke its way through the steel sheet of clouds. It may have not been sunny then, but both knew that someday, there would be sunny skies.


End file.
